Home Sweet Home
by lone-star-woman
Summary: Rory and Owen get married. Unfortunately, this is a Torchwood wedding, and getting to the alter proves more difficult than they thought it would.
1. The Night Before the Wedding

**HOME SWEET HOME**

**Chapter One: The Night Before The Wedding**

Colin Harper tosses his suitcase on the king-size bed and looks around at his surroundings, "This is incredible. I feel as though I'm in some sort of Gothic novel."

The room is large and ornate with heavy brocade drapes, a large canopy bed, an armoire with elaborate carvings, and a large fireplace. It's a very masculine room done in dark earth tones with a couple of stag heads mounted on the wall.

"So let me get this straight. Rory owns all of this?" Colin asks.

"Yep," Owen replies.

"So basically, after tomorrow, you'll own this too?"

Owen shrugs, "I suppose."

"Do you think you'll ever set up house in this place once the old man keels over?"

"Don't know about that. She's never been fond of this house."

"There's nothing a decent decorator won't be able to fix. Get rid of the Jane Eyre ambiance and bring in a bit of cheer is all I'm saying."

"She thinks this estate is too big. Ideally, she'd like to sell it, but Jack keeps telling her to hold onto it."

Colin throws his arm around Owen. "You know something, brother? I like Rory. She's a sharp one. Best of all, I can tell she loves you, too."

"Thanks, Colin."

"Great tits, too," Colin says as he gestures with his hands. "Just the right size and -"

"You know if I catch you so much as chatting her up, I'll murder you," Owen warns.

"Enough said, brother," he replies with a grin. "Just making sure you loved her, too."

xxxx

Kevin Templeton finds his father drinking alone in his dark study.

"They are all settled in," Kevin tells him. "They are just about to leave on their stag night."

"You going with them?" Reginald asks.

"I hardly know any of them, but I did ask Arthur to drive them. I thought that it would be the safest thing to do."

"They'll come back to the house smelling of drink and smoke. Why did I ever agree to let them have the wedding here?"

"Because it's Aurora's house. Bertram and Imogene left it to her," the son reminds him.

"Damn Bertram! Damn Imogene! Damn that awful, little brat! Do you see the way she deals with officers? She doesn't care one jot for ranking and protocol. Calls them all by their Christian names. Salutes them with that silly grin."

"They still respect her talent," Kevin reminds him.

Reginald bangs his fist on the arm of his chair, "That doesn't excuse her for her lack of decorum."

"I'm not having this discussion again," Kevin says. "I'm going to watch a bit of telly and turn in. I'm quite certain that you can survive tomorrows events, father. I, for one, am going to try to enjoy them for her sake. She and I are the future of the company; we might as well get on the best we can."

"She stole your birthright!" Reginald barks.

Kevin ignores him and exits the room. Reginald sits down at his desk. To calm his nerves, he works on model ship. He becomes so absorbed in his work that he doesn't notice Bilis Manger enter the study.

"You know, you're only right about Aurora," Bilis says.

Reginald responds by pulling out a revolver from a desk drawer, but Bilis disappears. He reappears next to the desk.

"You have a right to protect your interests and that of your sons," the time traveler says. "And I can help you."

xxxx

That evening, Owen has his stag party at a "gentleman's club." Ianto and Jack make out feverishly on the plush couch while Andy, Rhys, and Colin cheer on the main show as they pour pints down their throats. Max, a junior engineer who works with Rory, appears to be slightly terrified by the overt sexuality of the place while Owen watches the stripper with mild amusement. He's seen better.

It's not that Owen objects to having naked woman bump and grind before his eyes. The problem is that the club reminds him of sadder events. Here is where he mourned Katie and Diane in a blur of sex and drink in order to fend off loneliness. This is what he left behind in order to find an unconventional happiness. A poker game and a couple of pornos would have been fine by him, but his brother insisted.

A woman wearing a pink wig sashays to him, "Owen, love, haven't seen you in ages? We thought that you'd fallen off the face of the planet."

"Yeah, I've been busy," he replies. Busy as in shagging Rory in every room in her house when he had the time. Busy as in taking her out to clubs where people keep their clothes on because he loves watching her dance. Busy as in spending time with a person he can talk to without having to censor himself. "I'm getting married."

"Aww. I'll have to give you a proper send-off then," she coos.

"See that bloke over there," Owen says, pointing to Max. "Why don't you make his night?"

Owen hands the stripper some money and sends her on her way. He snickers as she coyly introduces herself to Max and proceeds to rub herself in his face. He looks behind him and sees that Ianto and Jack are gone.

"Where do you suppose they've gone?" Colin asks.

"Some dark corner away from prying eyes," Owen replies.

"I reckon they didn't appreciate the show."

"Quite the contrary. They enjoyed it a little too much."

"So you're saying that those two men get so turned on by the strippers that they immediately have to fuck each other?"

"Good thing the music will drown out their moaning," Owen says.

Suddenly, 'Girls, Girls, Girls' by Motley Crüe starts playing as another woman takes the stage. Owen winces. "Good Lord! Do they still play that song?" he rants. He yells to the deejay, "The Eighties called and wants its strip club cliché back."

"I wonder if Rory is having as great a time on her hen night?" Colin muses.

xxxx

"One, two, THREE!" Rory shouts.

She along with Tosh, Gwen, Martha and two other colleagues from her lab woof down a batch of jell-o shots. Tosh - who is a complete light-weight - is already drunk while the other women are slightly buzzed.

"Oh, my God, I love this song!" Tosh cries as the deejay plays a Scissor Sisters song. She puts her arm around Gwen and asks, "Dance with me?"

"All, right, sweetheart," Gwen replies with a snicker.

They head out to the dance floor where Tosh spins round and round while Gwen tries to keep her from bumping into other people.

Rory gets a text message on her mobile:

"Need to hear your voice. - O."

She finds a quieter area and dials Owen's cell phone.

"Aww, are all the large silicone breasts scaring you?" Rory asks.

"They're scaring your assistant. Are you sure he's gone through puberty yet?" Owen remarks.

"Leave Max alone. He grew up in the lab like all dedicated scientists."

"Well, he's getting the type of anatomy lesson that he didn't get at Cambridge," Owen says.

"What about you?"

"I'm feeling lucky that I will never have to pay for a lap dance again."

"Why? Did you win some sort of contest at the club?" Rory quips.

"Shut your face. I'm trying to be romantic here," Owen retorts.

"And I thought you wanted to hear my voice," Rory teases.

"Well, I've heard it."

"Can't wait to see you in a tux tomorrow. I suspect that you clean up nicely."

"Can't wait to see you in whatever monstrosity you picked as a wedding gown."

"I love you," Rory says softly, breaking out of her teasing mode.

"I love you, too," Owen replies. "Bye."

Owen hangs up, but as he is about to re-enter the club, he hears a cat screech which is followed by the crash of falling crates. He can also hear what sounds like a sharp cry of pain followed by grunting. Owen wonders if it could be a Weevil so he pulls out his penlight to investigate, but he quickly wishes he had left well enough alone. Right there in the alley outside the club, Jack has Ianto against a wall. The men pause and stare blankly at Owen with the Captain still deep inside the Welshman. The doctor quickly turns off the light and scampers back inside, trying not to listen to the moans as Jack goes back to work.

Back at the hen night, the club deejay announces, "Paging Dr. Templeton. Paging Dr. Templeton. There's a doctor here who needs a little consult."

With an unenthusiastic sigh, Rory goes to the dance floor where a male stripper dressed up in scrubs and a white lab coat is waiting for her. "Probably doesn't know the first thing about the cardiovascular system," she mutters.

xxxx

Bilis leads Reginald and several servants into the wine cellar of the mansion. Reginald commands his staff to move a heavy wine rack out of the way to get to the small padlocked door behind it. He orders the staff to go back to bed before shooting off the lock. Although the two men have to stoop as they walk down a narrow passageway, they reach a hidden room on the other side. Bilis leads Reginald inside. When he flips a switch, the lights come on to reveal a laboratory. On one side, older equipment has been pushed aside for equipment that dates back to the eighties. Reginald looks around the room in awe and even finds a dusty old leather-bound journal filled with formulas.

"Bertram," Reginald says. "My own brother kept this from me."

"Why do you think he was so interested in this house?" Bilis asks. "But come tomorrow, Aurora will cease to be a problem for you, and the house will be yours again."


	2. a lack of Pre Wedding Jitters

**Chapter 2: (a lack of) Pre-Wedding Jitters**

Reginald Templeton whistles a happy tune as he signs off to receive the flowers.

"Is that a genuine smile I see on your face, father?" Kevin asks. "Did you find religion? Or have a stroke? Or are you in the first stages of Alzheimer's?"

"Can't a man enjoy the beautiful weather and the scent of roses, my dear boy?" Reginald replies. "I thought that you'd be pleased that I am making an effort to look happy on your cousin's special day."

Kevin shrugs and walks past the study. When he sees Bilis inside the room, he turns to his father and asks, "Who is that gentleman in your study?"

"What gentleman? Reginald asks.

Kevin looks back into the empty room, "Nothing. I just thought…"

"Now whose head should we examine?" Reginald teases.

Kevin Templeton fails to see the joke.

xxxx

The next morning at Rory's house, Tosh deals with her hangover in the bathroom.

"How do I look?" Tosh mumbles. Her hair is plastered to her head; her face is pale; and her eyes are bloodshot.

"Nothing a shower and a bit of make-up won't fix," Gwen replies with the fake smile she uses when she's lying.

Gwen slips out of the bathroom and into the hallway where Rory and Martha are standing.

"How is she?" Rory asks.

"She may not look like much now, but she'll pull herself together. You know Torchwood - resilient and ready for anything," Gwen assures her.

xxxx

Owen wakes up in in his room at the Templeton mansion to the sound of snoring. He crawls to the foot of the bed and peers over the edge. Andy - who is still in the clothes from the night before - is sleeping on the floor, curled up in fetal position.

The PC wakes up and looks up at Owen and says, "Hello."

"Bloody groomsmen," Owen mumbles.

Rhys knocks on the door and announces, "Breakfast in thirty minutes."

Owen rolls out of bed and ambles towards the tuxedo hanging in the closet with a smile on his face. Then, he makes sure that Rory's wedding ring is on the nightstand where he left it. It's a simple gold band with the inscription: My light and my love.

Owen whistles as he goes into the bathroom for a shower.

xxxx

In their own room in the mansion, Ianto nudges Jack, who has been sleeping since he wants to be rested for the day's events.

"Morning, cariad," Ianto whispers.

Jack strokes his lover's face and pulls him in for a kiss.

Ianto hands him a newspaper and reports, "I checked the latest weather report, and today will be partly cloudy, but no chance of rain. I also spoke to the UNIT liaison, and there was a pair of Weevil disturbances last night that they were able to contain without incident. She also told me that the rift is quiet for the time being. You know, it was nice of them to take care of things for today."

"Nice? After the work that Rory's done for them, they owe her," Jack replies.

"I'll send them a nice thank you note and a fruit basket, anyway."

"You and your sense of decorum."

"Ah, but a little diplomacy can go a long way," Ianto says.

Jack playfully tugs and Ianto's t-shirt as he says, "It'll be nice not to have to worry about the end of the world today."

"You sure you can do that?" the Welshman asks suspiciously.

"On this occasion, I think I can."

"Are you excited about giving away the bride?"

"Actually, I am," Jack replies. "Weddings always make me sentimental."

"Because they remind you of your own?" Ianto asks with a small smile on his face.

Jack frowns.

Ianto gives him a reassuring peck on the lips, "It doesn't bother me that you've been married before. On the contrary, it shows me that you are capable of commitment."

"Does it bother you that I can't marry you?"

"I knew what I was getting into when I started dating a man who technically doesn't exist," Ianto replies in a matter-of-fact tone. "Now, come on. There are still a million things we need to do."

However, Jack is left thinking that Ianto didn't answer his question.

xxxx

Jack walks around at the grand hall of the Templeton house, remembering the first time he saw the room while on a Torchwood mission. It was the autumn of 1923, and there was a temporal shift that allowed ball goers from the year 1802 to enter the hall and dance again. Jack thought it was a shame to have to send them back, but he did get to dance poorly with a couple of young ladies that night. And there were more opportunities for dancing over the decades before Torchwood came up with a more permanent solution.

"The years have been kind to the room," he comments to Reginald who has just entered the hall.

"It's also taken the work of many talented restoration workers to maintain this ballroom, Captain…" Reginald's mind grows blank as he tries to place a name to an oddly familiar face.

Jack smiles at the man who has taken a dose of ret-con once or twice over the years. "Harkness."

"This is more than a house. It is a testament to a great family," Reginald says proudly.

"I thought that this is the house they gave to the eccentrics so that they would stay as far away from London society as possible."

Reginald scowls at the Captain.

Jack shrugs and continues, "I guess that was in the good old days. Once the company moved one of its branches to Cardiff, the party was over so I heard. Now, it's all about stiff upper lips and respectability, am I right?"

Reginald angrily walks away to boss around some of the decorators.

Ianto sneaks behind Jack and snakes his arms around the Captain. "The ladies are here," he whispers.

With a nod to the elder Templeton, Jack whispers to his boyfriend and confidante, "You should have seen the look on his face before I had to ret-con him back in 1963. He wanted to call in a priest to perform an exorcism."

"Was that the year the actors from 1782 appeared to perform _King Lear _in French?" Ianto replies.

"Yep, but what was truly frightening was some of those performances. We couldn't get rid of those guys fast enough," Jack says with a smirk on his face. "And Uncle Reggie getting in everyone's way didn't help our cause. We were so relieved when Bertie took possession of this place."

Ianto snickers briefly and says, "Come on. Let's go see the bride."

xxxx

Once they are in the bridal suite, Ianto immediately launches into a status update, "Everything seems to be going according to schedule, but I have a question."

"Ianto, would you please ease up?" Jack insists.

"What's wrong, Ianto?" Rory asks.

"Are the groomsmen wearing white or pink roses on their lapels? I tried asking Owen, but he had a blank look on his face."

"White. Owen is wearing red."

"The florist ordered pink," Ianto replies. "I'll take care of it."

Jack rolls his eyes. "Why are you bothering her with these trivialities?"

"Sorry," Ianto says.

Rory stands up on a chair and kisses Ianto on the forehead. "I know you're just trying to be helpful, but let my assistant take care of the florist."

The Welshman gallantly helps her off the chair. "Thank you. Now off to check on the caterers. I'll see you later."

Once Ianto is out of the room, Rory confesses, "I am a bit nervous. What if I forget my wedding vows? What if I get cottonmouth during the ceremony? What if I trip on my way up the aisle? Owen sometimes has this effect on me. He makes me feel like such a giddy girl."

"Are you happy?" Jack asks.

"Ecstatic."

"Good. Then, don't worry. Once you are in the chapel none of the worries that you feel now will matter," Jack insists. "Ianto tells me that dress is absolutely you. I'm sure there will be jaws a-dropping this afternoon."

"Well, I happen to know how to pick an outfit that makes a statement," Rory says.

"What's the statement for today?"

"Frosting," she replies. When Jack furrows his brow, she says cheerfully, "Well, everyone comes to a wedding for the cake."

Jack thinks about it for a while, but after a moment, he begins to laugh. No one in his life brings him the random, quirky joy and silliness that Rory does.

xxxx

Once she is alone, Rory unzips the garment bag and takes out her dress. She steps back to look at it, admiring the craftsmanship of dress. However, the giddiness of the day catches up to her, and she jumps around the room like a child on a snow day while listening to "Walking On Sunshine." As she uses the bed as a trampoline, Gwen and Martha enter, accompanied by the hairdresser.

Rory stops. She pushes her disheveled tresses out of her face and says, "Oh, you're here."

As daintily as possible, she hops off the bed.

xxxx

Tosh wanders around the chapel, surveying the simple and elegant decorations. She marches down the aisle, and at first, she is merely practicing since she feels nervous about being a bridesmaid. However, she begins to imagine that it's her wedding. Tosh even recognizes that when she gave Rory tons of advice, perhaps she was planning her own dream wedding rather than the one of her close friend. All of a sudden, she hears someone whistling "Here Comes the Bride" behind her. When she turns around, Andy is standing at the end of the aisle.

"Hello, gorgeous," he says.

"Can you tell that I am a little hung over?"

"How hung over?"

"Like wild horses dragged me through the gutters," Tosh replies.

"Poor lamb," Andy says as he takes her in his arms. He gazes in her eyes for a bit, but then he reaches into his tuxedo jacket and pulls out a bottle of eye drops.

"Always prepared," Tosh says.

"Actually, I was in rough shape myself," he explains. "Now tilt your head back and open up those eyes."

Andy carefully puts a few drops in each eye and uses a handkerchief to catch the excess. Tosh blinks several times as the drops take effect.

"That feels better. Thank you."

"Guests are beginning to arrive," Andy says.

"I have to go get ready, then," Tosh starts to leave, but Andy takes her hand and delays her.

"So, I've been wondering," Andy says. "What's UNIT?"

"Where did you hear that?"

"I overheard Ianto mention something to Owen about the UNIT officers attending the wedding, and UNIT soldiers taking care of the hub. They seem like a pretty big deal."

"They are like the United Nations," Tosh stammers.

"So what do they do?"

"I can't -"

"You can't tell me," Andy mutters "I could ask around, you know. I could find out from someone else."

"So why don't you?" she asks teasingly.

"You know, Tosh,… sometimes, I wish you'd trust me a bit more. I do know things. I'm not stupid. I know that strange things happen in this city all of the time that nobody can explain because you lot sweep in and make sure there's not any evidence for the rest of us to dissect."

"We do it for your protection."

"Protection from what?"

Tosh doesn't know how to answer, but she makes the attempt, "There are things that some people aren't ready to comprehend… There are things that people can't understand… Complicated things with science that most people can't grasp."

"Try me," Andy insists.

"I need clearance from my boss," she says.

Andy groans and rolls his eyes, "Right because he's so bloody helpful."

"He saved my life," Tosh explains. She freezes because she immediately wants to take her words back.

"Saved you from what?" Andy asks. "But you aren't going to tell me about that either."

"There are things in my past that I feel uncomfortable discussing."

"I just want to move forward, Tosh. I thought by now you'd have a bit more faith in me."

Allison Scott, Rory's über-organized assistant, clears her throat politely. "Miss Sato, the hairdresser is ready for you."

"Five minutes," Tosh says.

Andy smiles at Allison and says, "She'll be right there." He turns to Tosh and kisses her hand, "I just want you to think about what I've told you."

With a deep sigh, Tosh pulls herself together and follows Allison to her room while Andy leans back in one of the pews and closes his eyes. He regrets pushing Toshiko on the matter, but lately his curiosity has been getting the best of him, especially when he finds claw marks on her back or bruises on her wrists. On some nights after making love, she withdraws from him emotionally with a fragile look on her face that makes him feel helpless.

Andy's train of thought is interrupted by a muffled sound that seems to be coming from under the floor. Since no one else is around, he presses his ear to the floor and thinks he hears screeching, but because the floor is stone, Andy believes that he's just imagining it. When he stands up and brushes himself off, he notices an elderly man in a cravat looking at him with a strange smile on his face. Feeling embarrassed and inexplicably frightened, Andy leaves the room.

xxxx

Ianto walks into the groom's suite and notices that neither Owen nor Colin are dressed yet. They are lounging around in t-shirts and boxers, watching the end of a football game.

"You do realize that you are getting married in an hour? And that you have to go down there to greet guests before the blessed event," Ianto says.

Owen doesn't take his eyes off the screen, "It'll take five minutes for me to get ready - ten at the most."

"Good Lord, with all the energy he's pouring into this affair, you'd think he was the one getting married," Colin jokes.

"I like the logistics of organizing an event. That's how I roll," Ianto replies in a stiff butler fashion.

"And he's damn good at it," Jack retorts.

Ianto looks at the Captain, and his heart swells with love as he watches the man fiddle around with his bow-tie. Jack tosses his hands in the air, feeling foolish that he's been defeated by a piece of neckwear.

"Here. Let me," Ianto offers with a chuckle.

In spite his chagrin, Jack allows the Welshman to work his magic with a knot.

"Awww," the brothers Harper sarcastically sigh.

"There," Ianto says. He tugs the lapels of Jack's tuxedo and pulls him in for a peck on the lips.

"Awww," the brothers Harper repeat.

"Careful there," Jack murmurs. "This is an expensive tux."

Ianto wraps his arms around the Captain's neck and kisses him harder.

"Awww," the brothers Harper sigh one more time.

The Welshman takes an empty cufflink box and chucks it at Owen's head, but the doctor ducks. At that moment, Rhys enters with Owen's mum, and the box hits her instead. Ianto is mortified, but Owen and Colin laugh hysterically.

"Bloody hell!" the shrill woman yells.

Ianto steps forward to apologize but Jack holds him back. He nods to the door and together they make a getaway. Rhys slips out quietly as well.

"Sorry, mum," Colin says between snorts of laughter. "We were just mucking about."

"Mucking about, were you? Look at the both of you. There are very important men down there, and you haven't even pulled yourselves together. Colin, you could be making important contacts down there."

"I'm not sure that a wedding is the best place to pimp my skills as a divorce attorney," Colin replies.

"You do adoptions as well," Victoria says.

"Yeah, Colin can go around shouting, 'Who wants a Cambodian child? Angelina has one, and it's all the rage,'" Owen jokes.

Colin shoves Owen aside and says, "That's part of my wedding toast."

"Do I have to raise my voice?" Mrs. Harper shouts.

Owen groans like an adolescent, "Mum, wild horses couldn't keep me from marrying that woman. I'm not sure about this aimless git, but I'll be ready. And if you want to know the truth, I have no need to impress anyone down there."

"They say that you are one of the best doctors in Special Ops," Victoria acknowledges.

"I do my best," Owen replies casually. Inside, he's bursting with pride.

"They also say that Aurora is one of the foremost engineers in the U.K. They all praise her work," Victoria adds.

Owen shrugs, "I told you she was good."

"They say you make a lovely pair," Mrs. Harper tells him.

"Glad to know some people seem to think so," Owen replies.

Victoria nods quietly. She reaches out for Owen's hand, but she stops. "After Katie, I didn't think you'd ever get married."

"I didn't think so either," Owen admits. "But she is worth all the trouble. She makes me happy."

"Then, do the same for her, son," Mrs. Harper says. "Now the two you pull it together and try not to make arses of yourselves."

Victoria storms out of the room.

Colin turns to Owen and says, "Enjoy this moment, because that, brother, is as good as it gets with her."

xxxx

In the bridal suite, Martha and Gwen extend the train of the bride's dress while Tosh and Nancy touch up their make-up. Jack sits in a chair and watches as Ianto supervises and Allison checks off her to-do list.

"You look stunning," Ianto says with a broad smile. He gives her a gentle hug, careful not to muss up her dress.

"Thank you for all your help," Rory tells him.

"Well, I am a bloody brilliant wedding fairy," Ianto says.

"Yes, you are," Jack agrees.

Ianto does one more check on his own appearance, "Well, I should hop over to the chapel and greet guests and all that."

"Stay up here, and let Owen handle all of that," Jack says.

"Have you seen Owen's manners?" Ianto asks. "You'd think that he was raised by wolves. No offense, Rory."

"None taken. I've seen his manners as well. Yikes," Rory responds. She begins to get a bit teary-eyed, "But I do love that man."

"Don't you dare ruin your make-up before you get down there," Ianto warns.

"Yes, sir," Rory replies as Gwen and Martha giggle.

xxxx

At the chapel, Owen and the groomsmen take their places.

Andy whispers to Max, "So your boss… just how does she know all of these military types?"

"Because robots that detect and deactivate land mines aren't in big demand with the general public," he replies.

"Oh."

Max continues, "And there are some special projects that she has that we don't even know about."

"Does that ever bother you?" Andy asks.

Without hesitation, the junior engineer says with a gleam in his eyes, "Well, I'm not as special as she is."

Colin leans over to them and shushes them both. "Look lively, men. It's showtime!"

xxxx

Reginald knows that no one will expect him at the wedding - certainly not the bride, nor the groom, not even his own son. So they won't care if the former owner of the house is dithering away in his cellar while everyone is in the chapel. But he is there in a sense. The footage from the CCTV allows him to watch the wedding and even listen to ceremony. However, he's not watching for his amusement; he has other plans.

He looks over Bilis's instructions. Little did he know that the house was once the center of rift activity over the centuries. Of course, he never knew that the rift in space and time existed before last night Bertram never shared this information with him. Bertram never told him about this part of the house.

"While I tried to keep the company afloat, my little brother was locked up in this room performing his little experiments," Reginald mutters to himself.

But now he knew, and he understood the technology that was keeping the rift stable and holding the house together - more or less. Bilis told him, that only Aurora and perhaps Captain Harkness would be affected by a tiny opening of the rift, and he was willing to do whatever it took to keep the house, if not for him, for Kevin who lately seems to be under Aurora's spell. Yes, Bilis Manger made a lot of things clear for Reginald the night before.

No one would miss him at the wedding, so he can just sit in the cellar and wait for the right moment.


	3. There Goes the Bride

**There Goes The Bride**

When Tosh walks down the aisle, she considers that at one point in her life, she would have wanted to be the bride if Owen was the groom. However, she's very happy for her friend, and the man who occupies her thoughts is Andy. She decides that perhaps Andy deserves to know about Torchwood. All of her co-workers were in supportive and nurturing relationships where no one had to dance around work issues, and perhaps he could be of some use when dealing with the police. Andy has already seen so much, that surely he deserves to be told more about what she does.

Tosh and Andy exchange glances. She smiles, and so does he in spite of himself. She'll tell him everything… well, almost everything. She's not sure if she's ready to talk to him about her time in a UNIT prison. Tosh worries how he'll react - if he'll even believe her.

As soon as the string quartet starts playing "Here Comes the Bride," Owen straightens himself up. Rory enters the chapel on Jack's arm, and Owen feels as though he will explode from joy. In a light airy dress with a strappy, fitted bodice and a skirt that looks like some mad pastry chef decided to pipe a dome made of frosting around her legs. She wears a white satin scarf draped over head like a glamorous movie star. Suddenly, Owen just wants to get the whole ceremony over with. He wants to be married to her now.

In that moment, Rory doesn't care about being the center of attention in the room filled with fifty or so guests. Most of them are casual business contacts that she invited only to be polite. She glances briefly at the smiles on the faces of her friends. She focuses on the feel on Jack's strong arm and the look in her groom's eyes because those are the most important people in the chapel.

Meanwhile, in the basement of his home, Reginald pinpoints Jack and Rory's exact location. He holds his breath and flips a switch.

Jack and Ianto's eyes meet a split second before the bride and her uncle disappear into thin air. The ground begins to shake and the walls begin to crack. After a few, terrifying seconds, it stops.

"Is everyone all, right?" Gwen shouts.

"Rory? Rory?" Owen yells.

Ianto clutches his mother's hand, unable to comprehend what just happened.

Andy searches Tosh's face for answers, but she tells Gwen, "I'm going for my laptop."

Andy follows her out of the chapel and to the main house.

Despite the unexplained disappearance of her friend, the structural engineer on Rory's staff has a cool head and enough foresight to examine the walls. "Listen up," Nancy announces. "Starting with the back rows, I need everyone to leave in a quick and calm manner. Front rows can exit though the door behind the altar."

"You don't think it's going to collapse do you?" Gwen whispers to Nancy.

The structural engineer replies, "Not sure, but the building is old. I don't want to take any chances."

The UNIT guards begin to evacuate the people from the chapel. They separate the civilians from their officers and Torchwood. They leave no time for Colin nor his mother to offer the groom any words.

Owen stands at the alter in a daze. "This can't be happening," he mutters. "Someone tell me that this isn't happening."

Gwen tries to put her arm around Owen and tells her, "We need to get out of here, Owen."

"Don't bloody tell me what to do!" he shouts. "Where is my bride?"

"Owen, we are going to find out what happened to them. But right now, we need to keep our heads together," Gwen says. She looks at Ianto whose body is in the chapel, but his mind might as well be in the Void.

Rhys takes his fellow Welshman's arm and whispers, "Come on, mate. Let's get out."

Ianto doesn't say a word, but he allows Rhys and his mother to take him out of the chapel.

Owen pulls himself back together when he realizes that Rory would want him to keep his wits about him. She would want him to take the pragmatic route. He storms toward the door, but the ground begins to tremble again. He and Gwen take refuge under the arch doorway into the vicar's room, and they watch as the ground splits open, allowing three harpies emerge from the floor. With deafening screeches, they tear through the ceiling.

Although the ground is still shaking, Gwen and Owen run outside as fast as they can. before the earth swallows up the building. The UNIT guards shoot at the flying harpies with pistols without success while Owen, Gwen, Rhys and Ianto run back to the main house for cover.

"In the study!" Gwen commands as UNIT officers begin to escort the civilians into another room.

Rhys sighs in relief as he slams the door shut, but he can hear the sounds of the harpies shrieking outside and the gunfire of UNIT soldiers as they try to deal with the problem. The military officers gather around a speaker phone waiting for information from the hub. On the one hand, being surrounded by a number of competent people who can sort all of this out makes Rhys breathe easier, but what breaks his heart is the sight of a shell-shocked Owen and Ianto - who try, each in their own way, to restore some semblance of strength.

"What do we know so far?" Owen asks.

"We've picked up activity at a fork in the rift that up until now has been inactive for thirty-two years," the UNIT liaison reports from the hub.

"Since July 5, 1976?" Ianto asks.

"Yes," the liaison says.

"That was the day that Bertram signed up with Torchwood to begin his research. Jack told me about it once…"

The liaison continues, "The weaker path extending from that fork was sealed on premises by a version of the rift manipulator built by Bertram Templeton to keep the rift from extending in a new direction. According to our records the machine is in the cellar."

"Can you access blue prints for us and send it over?" Ianto says. "That should be file RMTMBT751976."

"How in the hell do you remember that?" Rhys asks in amazement.

"Archiving is in my blood," Ianto replies.

"Kevin! Kevin!" Reginald shouts as he tears into the room, escorted by two UNIT soldiers.

Gwen helps the elderly man into a chair and tells him, "Kevin is in the sitting room. He's being protected by soldiers. I think it's best if you stay in here for the time being."

"One of them has gotten into the foyer," one of the soldiers says. "It's sniffing around the room and tearing things apart."

Owen snatches up the print out as soon as it's ready, "I'm going to find Tosh and head into the cellar."

"I'll keep watch to make sure the coast is clear. Accessing CCTV," Ianto says. However, he discovers that part of the feed has been deactivated. He quickly hacks into the system so he can restore all cameras.

"What about that creature?" Reginald asks.

"That isn't going to stop me," Owen replies.

He tries to take the UNIT soldier's pistol, but the soldier tells him, "This thing is useless against those beasts."

Owen moves towards Reginald's gun rack and begins arming himself.

"Someone has already been down there," Ianto says. "The cellar is disorganized, and it looks like a door has been breached."

"I'm an old man. I can't move a wine rack alone," Reginald insists.

The statement raises the Welshman's suspicions, "I didn't say anything about a wine rack being moved."

xxxx

Leaving Gwen to sort out Reginald, Owen exits the room. Tosh and Andy are racing down the stair to the foyer.

Owen shouts at her, "Tosh! Basement!"

The doctor tosses a shotgun at the computer expert who catches it and cocks it.

"You know how to use that, I hope?" Andy asks.

"Tosh, to your left!" Ianto says into the Comm.

Tosh quickly blasts the harpy as it dive bombs at her.

Andy watches it crumple to the ground. Tosh tugs at him to run away, but the PC stares at it as it recovers and gets back up.

"We're not so easy to get rid of," it screeches.

The harpy attacks Andy and shoves him against the wall. Its hands begin to burn through the fabric of Andy's suit, scalding the PC's skin. Tosh shoots the creature, giving the PC enough time to escape. Together, they head into the hallway with Owen providing cover. Yet, even though his shots are accurate, the bullets only stun the creature for a few seconds before it springs back to health.

"What the hell were they?" Andy asks once he and the others have made it to the safety of the cellar.

"No really sure, but they look like harpies," Tosh replies as they enter the secret hallway.

Andy's eyes grow wide with disbelief. "Harpies? Like Ancient Greece harpies?"

"Well, maybe not Ancient Greek harpies," Tosh replies. As they enter the Templeton's old laboratory, she quickly sets up her laptop and says, "Well, Andy. You wanted to know more about what I do. Looks like you are about to find out."

xxxx

Inside the study, Ianto gasps as he watches the three creatures bow before Bilis Manger on the CCTV. The creepy old man looks directly into the camera and politely bows before disappearing. The creatures continue to tear apart the foyer as if looking for something.

Ianto advances to Reginald Templeton and asks menacingly, "Where are they?"

"Who?" the old man asks.

"Don't play the fool with me," Ianto growls.

Gwen tries to pull him away, "Ianto, please. Let me try first."

"Get that man away from me," Reginald says.

"His lover and his friend are gone. I'd say that he has plenty reason to be angry," Gwen says. "Now if you know anything about what happened to my friends, please tell us."

"I don't know where they are," Reginald says.

"Bilis Manger. Does that name mean anything to you?" Gwen inquires.

"No."

"Old man in a cravat?" Gwen asks.

"Where is my son?" Reginald demands.

"You mean the one you put in danger?" Ianto hisses.

"Gwen," Rhys calls out, "Those things are trying to get in here."

"Give us the stone!" the creature wails on the other side of the door.

"There was something about this house," Ianto mumbles to himself as he accesses the archives. "Jack said Hector did some security work for it."

"That lunatic!" Reginald exclaims.

"Do shut up!" Ianto bellows.

Rhys jumps in fright as one of them appears at the window.

"You can make all of this very, very easy," the harpy tells him. "JUST LET US IN!"

Ianto quickly types a code into the security panel, and as the harpy tries to break through the glass, it is shocked which causes its atoms to temporarily scatter. Once it is back together again, the harpy stumbles backwards and appears visibly weakened. This time, it doesn't recover quickly and staggers underneath a tree to rest.

Ianto calls Martha who is in the sitting room with the rest of the wedding party, "How is my family?"

"We're all still here," she replies.

"I'm putting up an electric fence around the room. Do not let anyone out for any reason!"

"Will this keep everyone safe?" Martha asks.

"I think so. Would you put on my mum, please?" the Welshman requests.

As soon as she gets the phone, Lillian says timidly, "Ianto?"

"Mum, listen carefully. Find a long piece of metal. Perhaps a fireplace poker. If one of those creatures comes after you, give it a shock."

"Okay," she says, but she sounds hesitant. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. I'm in a safe room. Tell Granddad and Gran to protect themselves."

"Yes, son."

"And Mum. Stay with Martha."

"Yes, son."

"I love you, Mum."

"I love you, too. You'll get him back. He'll find a way to you. Now, do us proud," Lillian says.

Ianto hangs up after hearing exactly what he needed.

"Reginald won't talk until he sees Kevin," Gwen informs him.

"He can see his son on the CCTV," Ianto replies. "Of course, I didn't think he knew anything about the cellar. He was out of the country when Bertram and Hector did their work in the house."

"Did Jack ever tell you anything about a stone?" Gwen asks.

Ianto shakes his head, "No, but he would have told one of us about if it had some significance."

Gwen offers him a sad smile, "How are you holding up?"

"If I keep busy, I think I may keep myself from going out of my mind," the young man replies.

xxxx

Downstairs, Tosh reads a print out of rift activity, "It's stable. No new spikes. It's like it was activated just long enough for Rory and Jack to slip through the rift and for the harpies to get through. And then, the rift shut itself up. The manipulator is recording two sets of oscillations."

"What do they mean?" Owen asks.

"Still working on that," Tosh replies. "There was more work done to the manipulator after these blueprints were filed away. Looks like Bertram did a little research outside of Torchwood."

"I'll look through some of these old journals. Maybe Bertram left behind some notes," Owen suggests.

"Where did they go, Tosh?" Andy inquires.

"They could be anywhere in time or space," she replies. "But we have to find them. I don't know what will happen to Owen if we don't."

Andy is a ball of pent-up nerves himself. "All of this, Tosh," he rants. "All of this has been going on, and it's just another day at the office for you."

"I'm just as worried about my friends as anyone else, but it's my job to figure out how to get them back," she tells him. There's a glimmer of self doubt on her face, but Andy still picks up on it.

"Is it always this dangerous?" Andy asks timidly.

Gazing blankly at the blueprints and not at the PC, Tosh nods. Then, she looks up and caresses his face, "Are you okay?"

Andy can't bring himself to say anything. He shrugs, but he is obviously very traumatized.

xxxx

Gwen allows Reginald to see his son on the CCTV, and Martha assures him that they are all safe in the sitting room.

"Tell us what you know," Gwen demands.

"I merely wanted the house back before she married that man. I didn't know that all of this would happen," Reginald explains.

"But you wanted her gone," Gwen says. "Someone came along and promised you that would happen so you went along no questions asked."

"I did it for Kevin," the old man insists. "As soon as Imogene was put into the ground, out came this insolent child who began flouting the traditions that this family stood for. It was as if she just played the part of dutiful daughter until she got her hands on what she wanted. She's not loyal to the family - not like my son."

"She's loyal to Imogene and Bertram," Ianto says. "She still misses them."

"Well, she and Bertram and their little side projects… They have never invested the time in the company that Kevin and I do. There were years that Bertram never even saw his own office, but they expect to be able to dip their hands in the coffers to -"

"Do what?" Ianto demands. "Invest in projects that save lives?"

Gwen kneels next to Reginald and tells him, "With everything you've seen today, surely you understand that your brother saw that there are things out there that we don't understand, and sometimes there are forces that want to destroy us. He knew that he had to protect his planet."

"Ah, yes the noble Bertram… that defender of Earth who was willing to exploit his own brother's weakness to obtain the deed to this house."

"He made sure that the estate didn't fall into the wrong hands," Ianto argues.

"Do I fall under the category of the wrong hands?" Reginald asks. "I know that in my lifetime I have made mistakes - yes, I admit that those mistakes may have cost me this property - but do I have to continue to pay for them for the rest of my life? And to be reminded of those transgressions every time I see that brat… that brat who never showed me one ounce of respect once she got her hands on this house."

"Respect is a mutual thing. Did you ever show her any when she was growing up?" Ianto asks.

"You have to let Rory be who she is," Gwen adds.

"It doesn't matter what I've done because I can't reverse it," Reginald says to his captors. "That man gave me the instructions for the machine and gave me the list of coordinates, but I burned that information. It doesn't matter what you do to me. I got rid of that little bitch just before she got married, and as long as she's gone, this house will belong to my son, Kevin."

"So you don't even know where they are?" Gwen asks in shock.

"Even if I did know, my dear, I'd never tell."

xxxx

Rory gasps as she breaks through the surface of the salt water. As she treads water, she looks around at the burning wreckage of a ship, searching anxiously for Jack.

"Rory?" he calls from a life boat.

She swims to it, and he pulls her up. They watch the dead bodies of the passengers float along side of them and the crowd gather at the shore. Rory takes off her jewelry and wraps it up in her scarf. Jack tosses his wristwatch in the bundle, but keeps his wrist strap on.

"And what shall I do in Illyria?" Rory jokes bitterly.

As the men, pull the boat to the shore, they turn nervously away from the bride who is revealing too much of her arms, neck, and chest. A woman drapes a blanket over her.

_Puritans, _Rory thinks to herself. _They are literally Puritans._

She looks at Jack, and she knows that he is thinking the same thing as he stares at the Colonial American town.

As the women try to lead Rory away from him, Jack shouts, "The girl stays with me."

"What's this girl to you?" a man inquires.

"She's my charge. I brought her up and educated her," Jack says.

The man reacts in confusion, "This savage half-breed?"

"She needs proper clothing," another man insists. "I don't care if she is savage. She needn't dress like one."

The women pull her away towards one of the buildings.

"What manner of clothes are you wearing, sir?" a third man asks.

"New fashions from France," Jack says, hoping that his lie will be convincing.

"They are all wet," a young man says. He solidly built with dark hair and kind, green eyes. "My father, God rest him, was his size. I'll see to his appearance."

"Very well, Nathaniel," the minister says. He turns to Jack and says, "Follow the blacksmith."

Just like Jack expected, the young man lives in a one room home with a few pieces of furniture and a small hearth for cooking. There's a loft overhead where Nathaniel sleeps. At one time, the home could have held an entire family, but Jack guesses that the blacksmith lives alone.

The young man opens a trunk and tosses the clothes at the Captain. When Jack unzips his trousers, Nathaniel watches intently. However, his gaze is decidedly non-sexual.

"What is the manner in which you fasten your trousers?" he asks.

"It's called, Le Zee-pair," Jack replies, trying to make it sound as French as possible.

Nathaniel takes the trousers and plays with the fastening device. In Jack's experience, most people are more preoccupied with what is in the trousers instead of the trousers themselves, but Nathaniel appears to be captivated by the feat of technology. If it were Ianto... Jack closes his eyes and thinks about the Welshman back home who is worried sick. Or perhaps, in Ianto's time, Jack's found him already. All that timey-wimey stuff is so hard to figure out.

"Do you travel much?"

"I'll say."

"That girl you were with?" Nathaniel asks. There is a gleam in the boy's eyes as well as a hint of a smile. "Is she really a half-breed?"

"Does it matter?" Jack responds.

"She seems so exotic… exotic and..." Nathaniel struggles to find the right word. "Courtly," he finally says.

Jack smiles, "Well, I've tried my best to give her a solid education."

Nathaniel is blushing so he quickly changes the subject. "The town elders believe that the shipwreck was the work of witchcraft. They say that hell's fire caused the gunpowder on the ship to burn. There has been much talk of witches lately, and they even hang Sarah Good tomorrow. She was found to be one of them."

If there was anywhere an eccentric alien like Rory might not survive, they found it. Jack can feel his heart race as he realizes that they are in Salem, Massachusetts at the height of the witch trials.


	4. Negotiations

**Negotiations**

Rory enters Nathaniel's small home wearing a more appropriate outfit and curtsies to Jack, "I just spoke to the smithy, and he has granted me permission to prepare my guardian's meal."

Jack smiles at her, relieved to see that she is okay. "You look…"

"Boring," she says. "But neither Betsey Johnson nor Alexander McQueen will be around for another three-hundred years so I have to make do with this lovely and_ chaste_ ensemble."

"Well, you make it work," Jack assures her.

"What do we do now?" Rory asks.

"I've been trying to figure out a way to send a signal out to everyone back home, but, in the meantime we need to blend in as much as possible."

"Because the weirdos are the first to hang? Yes, I heard about the witches," Rory says with a slight quiver in her voice even though she is trying to be nonchalant. "Well, I think better when I'm cooking so I should start."

She begins looking through the food supplies to take stock in what she has to work with, trying to occupy her mind, but she begins to cry anyway.

"I don't care about the wedding. I just want to be with him back home," she whimpers.

"You will be… sooner or later," Jack replies.

"Will I have to wait 316 years?" Rory asks. "A lot can happen in that time. By the time I see him again, I could be a completely different person than the one he fell in love with."

As she cries, her hands start glowing. Realizing that she has to pull herself together, she closes her eyes and recites the periodic table. Jack holds her close and kisses the top of her head. Rory finally pulls away when she settles down. She feels empty, but calmer.

--

Rory serves Nathaniel and Jack their meals like a dutiful servant. Jack smiles at her and offers her a chair. The alien glances at her host who nods, allowing her to sit down.

"This is quite the meal," the blacksmith tells her.

"It could have been better, but I didn't have any spices," Rory complains.

Nathaniel chuckles at her unexpected and brazen candidness. Jack notices that his expression is not reproachful. Instead, he's amused, and he hasn't taken his eyes off of Rory all evening. Rory, of course, is too wrapped up in her thoughts of Owen, therefore making her completely oblivious to her host's attention.

After the meal and after Rory cleans up the kitchen area, an older woman arrives at the blacksmith's home. Jack immediately gets up and bows, prompting Rory to rise and curtsy.

"I'm here to take the girl to the barn if she has finished her chores," the woman says sternly.

"I love the countryside -- the scent of manure in the air, straw up your arse," Rory whispers to Jack.

"Pardon?" the woman asks.

"She was bidding me a good evening," Jack explains.

Nathaniel smirks, having heard Rory's comment.

--

As Jack lies in the bed waiting for the blacksmith who is in the loft above him to go to sleep, his thoughts turn to Ianto. He remembers the pleasure of just lying beside him, their fingers interlaced. The young man's gaze is always so full of love in those quiet moments as he lies on his back, waiting to be kissed. Some nights, they don't have to make love -- of course, those are the nights when Ianto is simply too exhausted. On those nights, kissing is enough. It's better than enough. It provides Jack with the intimacy that he could never get from a one-night stand. He misses telling Ianto stories in the dark until the young man drifts asleep. He misses listening to the Welshman talk in his sleep and trying to figure out what he's saying. And he misses the feel of the soft sheets that Ianto so thoughtfully picked out, not to mention the feel of Ianto's warm skin. It's been months since he's slept without him, and it's as if he's forgotten how.

--

Rory is given a spot in the loft and a blanket as a bed. She can hear rats creeping around her head, but she is more frightened by the prospect of losing her identity. Some would say that technology was an addiction for her, but it was her livelihood and one of her great passions. From the robots she built to the music she listened to the currents that flowed through her body, electricity defined her very existence. Her other great passion was Owen, and she wasn't ready to live without him yet. From the moment she met him, Owen made her feel safe, and being stuck in an intolerant society without them terrifies her in a way that a rodent never could. She hears Jack whisper her name so she scrambles down the ladder and hopefully to somewhere safer or at least somewhere they can send a signal.

Jack and Rory race into the nearby woods for cover. Once they are sure they are alone, Rory provides some light so Jack can read their coordinates on his wrist strap.

At that moment, Bilis appears to them carrying a video camera.

"If you run, I won't bother to try to find you," the elderly time-traveler says. "And if I don't know where you are, I won't be able to send you back to your own time."

"What do you want?" Jack hisses.

"I want the Camenae stone, Captain Harkness."

"What do you want with that old thing?"

Bilis chuckles and replies. "That is none of your concern. You see, Reginald promised me the stone for bringing you here. Unfortunately, now that he is under arrest, he is in no longer in the position to give it to me. But I'm willing to strike a new bargain with your team. Once it is in my hands, you will be back with the ones you love, and I will call off my minions."

"What minions?" Jack growls.

Bilis shows him the footage of the harpies. They have turned their attention to the city and have begin a terror campaign that has included overturning lorries and causing car accidents. They enter grocery stores and restaurants and leave behind rotting food in their wake. Anyone that gets in their way is picked up and flung to the side like a rag doll, and their victims are left with blistering burns on their skin.

"What do you want me to do?" Jack asks.

--

In 2008, as Jack and Rory attempt to negotiate with Bilis, even though they have spent an entire day in Salem, only an hour has passed since the interrupted wedding ceremony. UNIT turns their attention to tracking down the harpies without much success, while Torchwood stays at the Templeton mansion to try to find their leader and their ally.

Owen dresses the burns on Andy's skin left behind by the harpy's grip. The PC has settled down a bit, but he's still trying to sort out all that he's seen. Yet, he is still the big-hearted man who is aware of the pain of others. "I'm sorry about the wedding," he says to Owen.

Not being someone who accepts sympathy gracefully, the doctor's face twitches as if he's been slapped.

"Tosh? Owen?" Ianto says over the comms. "We've just received a message that I think you need to see."

Tosh opens up the video message from Bilis and plays it for Owen.

Rory appears on the screen first, "Owen, I want you to know that I'm safe. Well, it's only been one day without technology, and well you can imagine the serious withdrawal I'm going through, but I am okay. And I wanted to say that I love you, and that I really wished we eloped."

Jack appears next, "Ianto, I guess I don't have to tell you not to worry about me. I love you very much. Listen to me, Bertram kept the stone in his possession along with some other space junk. Ask Reginald where it is."

The video cuts to Bilis who is standing in a roomful of clocks, "The choice is yours, Torchwood. Once I have the Camenae stone, I will return everything back to normal. But the longer you wait the more dangerous things will get for them. You have an hour to reach your decision."

The video stops, and Owen speaks first, "It's just a piece of rock. Let the geezer have it so I can have Rory back."

"We don't know if it's just a piece of rock," Gwen says.

Even as he worries about Rory and Jack, Ianto still tries to be rational. "Jack would never ask us to give in to a terrorist's demands so easily. He must know something we don't."

"I still want to know why that stone is so important before I hand it over to Bilis," Gwen says. "There has to be something in the archives about the stone -- what it does, what it looks like. I'll call the liaison."

"While you're doing that, I'm going back to work on the manipulator. If I can access it's memory, maybe I can learn where they've gone," Tosh says. "Ianto, is the house safe?"

"I believe so," he replies.

With a clever little smile, Tosh says, "Send your grandfather down here. He's an archivist. He can access the memory of any machine without disturbing anything else and feed the information into my laptop."

"You want to use my grandfather as an interface cable?" Ianto asks.

"Well, yes."

Ianto sighs and responds, "I'm sure he'll love that."

--

David Goodall does exactly as Tosh requests with little fuss.

"Does it hurt?" Andy asks David as the elder Light Keeper glows.

"Shh," Marianne whispers. "You are not to speak to him while he's working. You don't want to clutter his thoughts during a transfer. And no it doesn't hurt. It doesn't feel like much more than a slight vibration. It's quite pleasant."

David stops and announces, "That's all of it."

"So what do you think, Tosh?" Owen asks.

"It's mostly binary code and algorithms. It'll take me a while to sort out. David, do you have any idea what the oscillations mean?"

He takes out a pair of reading glasses and inspects the machine, "The slower one is 'here' and the faster one is 'there.' At least, that's how they are labeled."

"Didn't Rory say that they've been wherever they are for a day?" Andy asks.

Tosh kisses Andy and exclaims, "That's it. The oscillations are marking time like a swinging pendulum. Wherever Jack and Rory are, time is going faster." Tosh stops and considers this and begins to worry again, "That means more time for them to get into trouble."

"And there's something else," David adds. "Some of this technology resembles a teleportation device from our home planet. The materials are different, and so is the power source, but the structure is the same."

"Are you sure?" Tosh asks.

Marianne smiles proudly and says. "Of course, he is, dear."

"So they used the rift to power the teleportation device," Tosh mumbles as she examines the machine. "What if Rory's parents were trying to get back home?"

David looks at Andy and nudges his arm gently, "You all right, son? You look as though you've seen a ghost."

"I don't know what's real anymore," Andy says quietly.

David and Tosh glance at each other briefly.

She turns to him and says, "He's real. His wife is real. Owen is real. I'm real. And this is all happening -- however unpleasant."

"I saw that man in the chapel before the wedding. If I had known…" Andy says. He shrugs helplessly. "Then again, what could I have done?"

Tosh holds him gingerly, carefully avoiding the burns on his arm and assures him, "I will do what I can to fix this."

Andy kisses her forehead and lets her return to her work.

Meanwhile, Marianne asks Owen, "How are you, dear?"

When the doctor looks at her, he thinks of Rory so he answers her honestly, "I fucking wish people wouldn't ask me that. I feel like total shit. I feel like my worst nightmare has come true, and worst of all, I feel helpless."

"But?"

"I still feel her energy inside of me, and I know that she's okay," Owen replies.

"She is inside of you," Marianne assures him. "The two of you are connected, and marriage… well, that is merely a formality."

Owen kisses her hand in gratitude for saying what he needed to hear.

--

As Tosh tries to sort out the information from the rift manipulator, it is already well into the next day for Jack and Rory.

The alien stares at the vegetable garden she's supposed to weed. Never in her life has she attempted to grow anything. That's what gardeners were for. She even relies on Owen to mow the grass at her home. However, it was either this or milk a goat, and, well, root vegetables don't bite. She kneels down and randomly pulls out a half grown beet. Realizing her mistake, she plants it back in the ground. As she tries to do the least amount of damage to the vegetables, she absent-mindedly starts singing "Birdhouse in Your Soul" in a soft voice. She remembers singing it to Owen which led to some minor wrestling on the hub's couch, which led to the confirmation of his attraction to her.

Jack approaches the garden and whispers to her, "You know what they say about loose lips. I don't think this crowd is ready for They Might Be Giants."

"Sorry. It's a good thing that it's you and not the blacksmith."

"You mean Nathaniel."

"Right."

"How are you not aware of these things?" Jack teases.

"Aware of what?"

"Nathaniel has the hots for you, and you can't even remember his name."

"Because my heart belongs with Owen."

"The blacksmith's not that bad looking. Those biceps are huge!" Jack replies.

"Oh, so if we're in different time periods, it's not cheating?"

"Technically, neither Ianto nor Owen are alive, so…"

"Do you and Ianto have an arrangement?"

"Well, we've talked about it," Jack explains. "If I'm stuck in a time loop without him, after a month or so, it's not cheating if I have to keep it strictly about sex."

"He gave you a month; that's generous."

"You and Owen have never discussed it? Spontaneous time travel is an occupational hazard."

"I simply don't think about other people in that way. It's a Light Keeper thing. You wouldn't understand."

"I do love him," Jack insists.

"Of course, you do."

"And I will always love him, but there are certain realities."

"I know," she replies in a barely audible voice, unable to look at him.

Jack gently pushes a strand of hair from her face. "What's going to happen to you when you have to say good-bye to Owen for good?"

"Did you want to tell me something?" Rory asks, dropping the subject entirely.

"I was thinking about how to send a message, and the only thing I could come up with --" Jack says.

Unfortunately he is cut off by Nathaniel who approaches them, "Mr. Harkness."

"Yes?"

"Samuel Sewall, the local magistrate, has invited us all to dine at his home this evening," the blacksmith tells him.

"Is he one of those men involved in the witch trials?" Rory asks.

"I'm afraid so," Nathaniel says sympathetically. "In Salem, you cannot refuse dinner with the magistrate or the minister without arousing suspicion. Now, if you will allow me…"

Rory and Jack stare at the blacksmith with blank expressions on their faces.

"I am to take Aurora to the magistrate's home where she will help prepare the dinner," Nathaniel says.

"I'll ride along with you," Jack says.

The blacksmith bites his lip and mumbles, "Well, of course. It wouldn't be proper for me to be seen alone with your ward."

Nathaniel takes his guests to the magistrates home in his horse-drawn cart with Jack riding in front and Rory in the back, sitting among some of the blacksmith's wares. She feels much like a piece of merchandise herself. Unfortunately, Nathaniel drives by the gallows, and Jack sees the bodies of five innocent people hanging on display for the whole town to blame for their misfortunes.

He whispers to Rory, "Keep your eyes to your left."

And in this way, the alien avoids having to witness what Puritans did to those who were different and those who were on the wrong end of personal grudges.

Nathaniel leaves Jack and Rory at the servant's entrance to the house.

"I suppose it's not on par with having dinner with Hitler or Pol Pot, but that man is a mass murderer in his own way," Rory comments to Jack before entering.

"I need you to be silent, cordial, obedient and modest during dinner," Jack tells her.

"The ideal Colonial woman," Rory says bitterly. "I suppose if we stay here any longer, we'll have to attend church services as well. The two of us at a Puritan religious service? Hell would certainly freeze over."

"Who knows? We might back home safely very soon, and you'll get married and go on your honeymoon."

"And you'll be back with Ianto doing whatever you men do when you're alone," she says with a smile. "I have faith in them, too. That's what's keeps me going."

"Then, get back in there and make me proud," Jack says warmly.

Rory hears the women chatter before she even steps into the kitchen again.

"Good Lord, that girl has been spoiled if you ask me. Hannah Miller told me she doesn't even know how to churn butter. For all the airs that little mongrel puts on and the accent she uses, she thinks she's some sort of duchess just because she's under the guardianship of that Mr. Harkness," one of the women says.

"Oh, but that man!" another woman says in a conspiratorial voice. "How I'd like to be under his charge!"

The women giggle quietly, and Rory thinks to herself, _Too bad he's taken, ladies. By someone with more class in one neuron than the whole lot of you put together._

Rory enters and smiles regally, "So what would you like me to do?"

--

In 2008, Gwen looks over the information sent over by the UNIT liaison and reports to Ianto, "According to this, the stone is a rare mineral. It's worth some money in different parts of the universe, but there's nothing else that's special about it."

"Was it thoroughly tested?" Ianto asks.

"Well, yes, and according to the records, Rory's father ran all of the tests."

"He would have been complete," Ianto says. "Unless…"

"Unless what?"

"Unless Hector and Bertram were using it for their private research," Ianto replies.

Reginald laughs from his chair.

Gwen tells Ianto quietly, "I'll handle this." She pulls up a chair in front of Reginald so that they are on the same eye level. "What do you know?"

"That bookshelf over there," the old man says. "Look underneath the bottom shelf."

Ianto and Rhys remove all of the books from the bottom shelf before the young man lifts up the board and notices a metal box in a hollow space underneath.

"What's all this?" Rhys asks.

"Some coins, a toy, an alien comic book," Ianto replies.

"One of the staff found that box when I reorganized the books. There was a stone in there…" Reginald says.

"Where is it?" Ianto demands.

"Why would I tell you?" Reginald asks.

Gwen tries to reason with him, "Once this is over, you will be sent to UNIT prison for the rest of your days. But if you give us the stone, and we can work something out."

"There's nothing you can offer me in exchange. What do I have to lose? And are you ready to harm an old man for that stone?"

Ianto would like to take a gun out and point it at Reginald's head, but he knows that it wouldn't do much good. Instead, he takes a more productive approach and calls Martha who is still in the sitting room with the other wedding guests.

"Martha, send Kevin Templeton into the study."


	5. The Things People Do For Love

**The Things People Do For Love**

When Kevin is brought into the study, Reginald hugs him tightly and exclaims, "My dear boy, I am so glad you're all right."

"Yes, I'm fine. What happened?" Kevin asks.

Gwen replies, "Aurora has been kidnapped."

"By whom? Did they demand a ransom? Is there anything we can work out to get her back?" Kevin stammers.

"Her kidnapper asked for a ransom, but he asked for a rare stone that Bertram once had in his possession," Gwen informs him. "Look at it carefully. Have you ever seen this before?"

Kevin examines the picture closely, but ultimately he shakes his head. "No." He shows the picture to his father and asks, "Do you know where the stone is?"

Reginald says nothing.

"Dad? Maybe Uncle Bertie left it here."

Reginald still doesn't say one word.

"Is there something you wanted to tell us, Mr. Templeton?" Gwen asks.

Ianto's eyes bore into Reginald's head, "He won't tell us where we can find the stone."

"What?" Kevin asks back in disbelief.

"I am not about to make any deals with kidnappers," the old man insists.

Gwen steps in and tries to reason with Reginald, "Bilis Manger is not someone to be trifled with. And no matter what you think of Rory, she is your family."

The old man, however, will have none of it, "In name only."

"Dad, did you ever intended to pay the ransom?" Kevin asks softly.

Ianto answers for Reginald, "With Rory gone, you will have her shares and this house which is exactly what your father wants, which is why he arranged the whole thing."

Gwen looks at Ianto in shock. She never expected him capable of being so cunning and cold, but young man isn't remotely remorseful.

"Dad, is that true?" Kevin asks.

"I just wanted the --"

The heir shakes his head and cries, "No. I'm tired being dragged into this age-old feud you had with Uncle Bertie along with Aurora who may be impertinent at times, but is innocent in all of this. If money and this house is more important than someone's life, then you are dead to me."

"Kevin!" the old man wails.

He says to Gwen, "I don't want to speak to him anymore. I can't even look at him right now."

"It's upstairs in the bedroom safe," Reginald confesses.

Gwen asks, "Do you know the combination?" Kevin nods.

"I never meant to hurt you, son."

"Yeah, well… you did."

Gwen whispers quietly, "I'll take you upstairs so that we can get the stone."

Reginald looks at Ianto and growls, "So this was your plan all along, wasn't it, boy? Turn a son against his own father. He's all I have after his mother left."

"I only told him the truth," Ianto replies.

--

In 1692, Rory must serve dinner to local magistrate Sewell who insisted in meeting the man who washed on the shore with his half-breed ward. She and Jack exchange glances, and it is clear that he is as uncomfortable as she is.

Nathaniel smiles at Rory as she ladles the soup in his bowl. His fingers itch to touch her hand.

"You are a remarkable teacher, Mr. Harkness," Sewell comments.

"Am I?" Jack inquires.

"Your ward is evidence of this. Her manners and speech are very refined. I suppose if you can educate her, you can educate anyone."

It takes all of Rory's will power not to roll her eyes, let alone keep her mouth shut.

The magistrate continues, "Of course, I hope she is a devout Christian. Unfortunately, some of our flock has gone astray."

"I saw evidence of that as Nathaniel drove his cart through town," Jack comments.

Sewell replies stoically, "Well, we are dealing with the crisis as best we can. Soon our small town will be purged of this menace, Lord willing. The case of Sarah Good was quite disturbing in particular."

Jack doesn't know where the magistrate is going with this. Part of him wants to change the subject. Part of him has to ask, "For what reason if I may ask?"

Sewell actually looks regretful, but he says, "That woman has lived off our charity for most of her life. We were kind to her. We made sure she had food to eat and clothes on her back as good Christians should, and she repays us by placing spells that bring misfortunes on her benefactors. What a terrible thing it is to find yourself betrayed in such a manner."

"And forgiveness and reform won't do?" Jack asks.

"Sir, I beg your pardon," Sewell answers. "We cannot give an inch to the devils' work or soon the town is his. This work is about more than saving lives. It is about saving mortal souls. I dare say, you almost sound as if you are on their side."

"Forgive me for overstepping my bounds," Jack replies cordially even though inside he is brewing with anger.

An expression of condescension crosses the magistrate's face, "Well, I will forgive that indiscretion for you seem like a good man, and I suppose you are accustomed to different ways. But soon you will be one of us. However, I understand that you are without a wife. No, that won't do at all. We must find you a wife."

"I think that I'd like to get settled first," Jack replies, hoping that's a good enough excuse.

Rory goes back into the kitchen to fetch the food for the next course. She picks up a piece of bread, but the smell seems odd to her. She quietly examines the barrel of rye, and years of gourmet cooking tell her that there is something wrong with the grain. The rational side of her impels her to take small samples of the bread and the rye, but she cannot in good judgment serve the bread to her uncle. In a moment of panic, she tosses the rest of the loaf into the hearth.

The cook tries to get it out of the fire, but it is too late. In anger, she slaps Rory across the face as hard as she can. "You stupid, stupid girl. Do you know how long it takes to bake a loaf of bread like that?"

Jack hears the yelling from the dining room and gets up from the table to check up on his niece.

"Take your hands off of her," the Captain yells at the cook who is trying to burn Rory's hand.

Sewell follows Jack and asks, "What is going on in here, Esther?"

"That half-breed savage threw the rye bread into the fire," the cook says.

"It was an accident," the alien insists.

The cook pushes Rory, "Liar."

The other servant speaks up, "She did it deliberately. I saw the whole thing."

"Well, Mr. Harkness, it seems you have my servant's word against that of your ward," the magistrate says.

Unable to bear the position that Jack is in, Rory admits, "I thought the bread was rancid."

"I baked it this afternoon!" the cook yells.

"So the girl did lie," Sewell says. He turns to Jack, "Well, I'll leave you to deal with it."

However, the magistrate does not leave and gives the impression that he wants to see the punishment that Jack will give his ward.

At her uncle's prompt, Rory says, "I'm very sorry that I lied and that I threw your bread into the fire. I acted hastily, but I assure you that I acted without malice."

The Captain nods and is about to walk back to the dining room when Sewell asks, "Is that all?"

"She almost drowned yesterday," Jack replies. "She's in a new land. She's tired. She doesn't feel well from the journey. Her lack of judgment is excusable and therefore, I am using _Christian_ charity since I am sure she meant no harm."

Sewell scoffs, but he backs off, "Mr. Harkness, I hope that you take care not to spoil the girl in the future. Such leniency can only lead to insolence."

--

After dinner and on the way back to the barn, Rory says, "The bread had ergot. I didn't want you or the others to get poisoned."

"Ergot?" Jack asks.

"It's a fungus that grows in the rye. It causes hallucinations and convulsions," the alien explains.

"Yeah, I've read about that. Historians believe that it was a catalyst to the witch hunts. I didn't think you'd burn the bread without good reason," Jack tells her. "I'm going to have to go back to the house, but as soon as Nathaniel is asleep, I will come for you. Maybe you can finally help me with the signal."

Rory nods. "Thank you, Uncle Jack. If she had put my hand it the fire…"

"You would have given yourself away. I know," he says.

Jack would like to hug his niece, but he suspects that he is being watched. It seems ridiculous that after all of his years, he has to worry about what others think, especially for such an innocent gesture.

"If felt good to burn the bread," Rory tells her uncle. "It made me feel more like a rebel and less of an accomplice"

As Jack walks back to Nathaniel's house, he begins to think that perhaps Rory is right about having to wait for 316 years to be reunited with the men they loved. With each moment that they stay in 1692, it feels like a piece of his soul is dying. The haunted look on Rory's face that is growing more and more distant. She obviously feels the same way.

--

Having secured the stone, Gwen kisses her husband, "Wait in here with the UNIT officers."

"Be careful," Rhys says.

Ianto, Gwen and Owen watch Bilis materialize in the trashed foyer of the house. Bilis smiles and nods at them, but the team is unmoved. Gwen steps forward holding a wooden box.

"Here is what you asked for," Gwen says. Bilis steps forward to take the box, but Gwen pulls it out of his reach. "We want our friends first."

"I would require proof that you have my ransom," Bilis replies.

Gwen opens the box. Bilis picks up the pale blue and grey stone and holds it up to the light to examine it. After a moment or two, he gasps in shock and glances quickly at the faces of the three.

Bilis's eyes flicker in anger, "The stone is useless to me. This is not the what I asked for."

"We gave it to you as promised," Owen insists. "I want my bride."

"If I don't get what I want, you will never see your bride again," Bilis says with a small smile on his face.

Owen grabs the elderly man's arm. "You bring her back," he growls.

"This is what is to become of your precious bride," Bilis replies as he retaliates by giving Owen a glimpse of Rory's future.

The vision makes Owen double over in pain. Ianto presses his gun against Bilis's temple, but the old man disappears before Ianto has the opportunity to pull the trigger.

"Whatever you saw, Owen, it doesn't have to come true," Gwen reminds him.

"I saw her hang," the medic whimpers.

"Owen, look at me," Gwen insists. "There's still hope, yes? We still have Tosh."

* * *

A/N: Both Sewell and Sarah Good are historical figures. I've taken liberty with Sewell who later expressed regret over his role in the trials. Sarah Good was in fact a beggar woman in Salem which is probably why she was among the first to be executed.


	6. Faith

**Faith**

Jack and Rory sit in the woods with a dim lantern and try to figure out how to fix the vortex manipulator.

"The doctor certainly knows what he was doing when he disabled it," Rory comments. "It's a code, but it would take me months, perhaps years to go through all the combinations of numbers and letters."

"It's okay," Jack says. "Your parents tried to make this work, too."

"I reckon Time Lords trump Light Keepers."

Jack chuckles and replies, "But you are both a whole lot of fun."

"I miss David Bowie," Rory says.

Slightly confused by the non-sequitor, Jack asks, "Pardon?"

"I was thinking of all the different things that I miss about home. Apart from the obvious, I found myself really missing my I-pod on a day full of drudgery_. __Ziggy Stardust _-- now that was a great album. Of course, Owen prefers _Diamond Dogs_. And Ianto…"

"_Hunky Dory_," Jack says much to Rory's surprise. "And 'Quicksand' is his favorite song from that album."

"He got you to listen to Bowie?"

"Hey, I was listening to Bowie before either of you scamps were born."

"We should totally go on a double date to see _The __Rocky Horror Picture Show_," Rory suggests. "Owen and I can go dressed up as Riff-Raff and Magenta. Ianto goes as Rocky --"

"I'd love to see that," Jack says, trying to imagine Ianto as a blonde and in a costume that leaves little to the imagination. "That means that I would have to be Dr. Frank-N-Furter."

"You would rock those fishnets!"

"Ianto's always said that he likes my legs, but he's gonna take some convincing."

"I'm sure you can manage," Rory says confidently.

"It would be worth it just to see him blush. He always looks so kissable when his face turns beet red," Jack admits.

"I always get the urge to pinch his cheeks," Rory says which brings a naughty grin to the Captain's face.

"So do I."

"I meant the cheeks on his face."

Jack laughs and, for a moment, it feels good to remind themselves of who they are and to make plans for the future, secure in the belief that they will get home. And then, Bilis appears behind Rory and places a knife at her neck.

"I'm afraid that your team tried to give me a useless piece of rock," Bilis tells Jack.

"Let her go," he demands.

"You have no weapon," Bilis says.

"No," Rory replies. "Jack is unarmed. He can't do anything, but I can."

Rory touches him and tries to manipulate his nerves to get him to release her. Bilis catches on what she is doing and tries to give her a glimpse of her future, but he finds himself outmatched. His energy reversed and he sees his own fate. Rory sees it, too.

Rory lets go and gasps, "You're dying. I saw you die alone."

Jack holds onto Rory to comfort her and says to Bilis, "So this is what all of this is about. You wanted the stone for its so-called healing powers.

"If you wanted the stone so badly, you could have just asked," Rory cries.

"Captain Harkness would have never given me that stone without coercion," Bilis growls.

"He's right. We have a history, and he knows that I can't trust him," Jack says to Rory. With a cynical grin, Jack tells him, "Of course you know that the Camenae stone is very useful, but I'm afraid it's power to heal is just a myth."

"That's a lie," Bilis insists.

"I'm afraid not," the Captain replies. "That stone was examined by her father who had sixth sense for energy. They can read it and determine how to use it. Hector realized that when it comes to healing, all it had was a placebo effect. People got better because they thought they were getting better."

"You have no faith," Bilis says.

"Faith?" Jack repeats in anger. "I have plenty of that. I have faith in my team and that I will see them again. I have faith in Rory's strength as she deals with the terrible position that you put her in. But, I've had enough with blind faith and superstitions in the past couple of day to last a lifetime. Your faith in the Abaddon almost destroyed a city. It could have destroyed the Earth. I'd be very careful where you place your faith."

Bilis picks himself up off the floor and straightens himself up. He turns to Rory and says, "Yes, faith can do some terrible, terrible things."

He looks off in the distance and smiles. And just as quickly as he appeared, he vanishes.

Jack takes the lantern and shines it in the direction of Bilis's gaze. There is nothing there -- only trees and the town.

--

"I think I've found them," Tosh says to Andy as she goes over the formulas on her screen.

Owen rushes to the screen with a relieved look on his face. "Salem, Massachusetts, July 18, 1692. Do you think you can get her back?" Owen inquires.

"To do it safely, I need their precise coordinates. I need to make sure that they are both together. That means we have to be able to communicate with them."

"I'll go back to the hub and use the psychic projector," Owen says happily. "I'll put myself in Rory's head and talk to her."

"The rift is stable. Are you sure that you want to compromise that to find Rory?" Tosh asks. "Perhaps we can find a time when there's an opening in the rift."

"She's in danger. I can't wait," Owen insists. "Besides, I can do this without the rift energy. The two of us are connected."

"Are you sure?" Tosh asks.

"It'll work," Owen says confidently. He taps on his comm. "Ianto? I'm going back to the hub to get the psychic projector."

"UNIT has taken care of two of the harpies, but there is still one flying over the city," Ianto reminds him.

"Let it try and stop me," Owen retorts.

"You need back-up?" Ianto asks.

"You offering?" Owen replies.

"I'll drive. You keep a look-out for that nasty beast," Ianto says.

Owen laughs as he feels his adrenaline rise, "The Teaboy and the Medicine Man out to save the day."

"That's Coffee King," Ianto announces.

Owen and Ianto bolt out the door and rush to the SUV.

"So where's the big gun?" Owen asks.

Ianto shakes his head, "I've got something better."

He opens a side panel and pulls out a special set of disks.

"What the hell are these?" Owen asks.

"Jack's been working on them for those times when tasers are just not enough. Once they've attach themselves to the victim, you can stun it to submission. You can control the voltage from the SUV."

"Genius!"

"Well, they work in theory. Never been tried out on the field. So we'll see," Ianto says as he hands Owen the launcher. "Just aim and shoot. And Owen, try not to get ahead of yourself."

"Yeah, well, you try not to drive like an old lady."

Ianto barrels down Cardiff's streets as fast as he can, managing to swerve around the cars in the traffic as the doctor watches out for any beast that might get in the way. Both men glance at the destruction left behind by the harpies which only fuels their anger and raises their adrenaline.

"Jones, Harper" the UNIT liaison says over the comms, "The creatures is on your tail. Look lively, boys."

Owen lowers the widow and leans out of it, resting on the frame. He fire a shot, but misses as the harpy maneuvers out of the way. He succeeds the second time and quickly shocks it which causes the harpy's atoms to scatter and the disk to fall to ground. The harpy reassembles itself, but it is weakened.

Rather than give Owen the easy shot, the harpy decides to go after Ianto. It thrashes against the window, causing the SUV to skid over the side almost tossing the doctor onto the pavement. Ianto screeches to a halt, causing Owen to drop the launcher out the window. However, the creature has gained momentum in its own flight and keeps gliding forward until it hits a tree like a befuddled cartoon character. Owen gets out of the SUV and picks up the launcher. Moving towards it in a decisive manner, he attaches another disk on the back of the stunned harpy and shocks it again. It reassembles itself again, but now it is badly misshapen. Owen tries again, and this time manages to shock it into oblivion.

"Third time's the charm," Ianto comments as Owen steps back inside the vehicle.

"Jack teach you drive like that?"

"He wishes," Ianto says with a smirk.

Once they arrive at the hub, they run into the hub where the UNIT staff is keeping an eye on the city. Ianto salutes the liaison quickly and courteously before grabbing the psychic projector while Owen searches for the blood samples and the coordinates to feed into the machine.

"Ready?" Ianto asks.

"Yeah," Owen nods.

For a few seconds, even Owen doubts that he will find her. Everything feels so dark to him as he struggles not to think of the vision that Bilis gave him. He tries to focus on a happier moment -- the first time they kissed, the baklava they shared when they decided to give their relationship a go, their first date. He thinks about the way her energy pulsates through his body when she touches him and it makes him so aware of his own body. He marvels over it just like he did when he was in medical school and he understood that the human form is both fragile and resilient. He begins to feel the spark inside of him -- that residual energy that is left inside of him after they make love -- tug at him like a rope around his chest. That spark wants to be with its owner and will drag the poor human through time and space to reach her.

In 1692, Rory drops the bucket of water on the floor of Nathaniel's house and almost loses her balance as if she is about to faint. Jack rushes to her side trying to hold her steady.

"Owen?" she asks feebly.

"Yeah, babe, it's me. What the hell are you wearing?"

"Well, apparently the top half of my wedding dress is indecent whilst the lower half is impractical for daily wear. Sod the blooming dress! You're here." She reaches out to try to grab the image, but she can't hold onto it. However, the doctor's projection gets momentarily brighter with the contact.

Owen feels a warm rush of blood surge through his body. "Technically not there, gorgeous. Only you can see and hear me."

"Oh."

"But I did feel that."

"Oh."

Slightly confused, the Captain wonders if his niece ingested a bit of ergot herself, "Rory, are you okay?"

"I can see Owen in my head."

"Tell him that it's the psychic projector," the doctor advises.

"It's the psychic projector, Uncle Jack, but I can feel him too -- the air in his lungs, the blood in this veins, the currents through his body."

Ianto looks up from the monitor that is keeping track of the doctor's vitals, "Owen what's going on?"

"She's holding my hand," he replies.

"Rory's using the connection to relay her location back to us," Ianto says.

"That's my girl," Owen replies proudly. "Listen, once Tosh gets your coordinates, we're are going to bring you back. Just hang on a couple more minutes."

Nathaniel runs into the house and Rory quickly drops the Captain's hand, "Jack, they are coming for Aurora. A formal complaint has been made about her. The magistrate's cook has accused her of witchcraft, and the squadron is coming to put her in jail."

"What?" Owen yells. "Who the hell is that?"

"Not now," Rory says to the doctor.

"Yes, now," Nathaniel insists. "I've got my cart ready. We'll all get out of here. We can go to another town and start a new life…"

The alien shakes her head, "No, we can't."

"I can marry you," Nathaniel says. "I can offer you my protection."

"I'm sorry, but I can't. I love someone else, and I have to go back to him. And you… you don't know me like he does."

"Ianto?" Owen asks. "Do we have the coordinates?"

"Just sending them to Toshiko right now," the Welshman replies.

"Nathaniel," Jack says gently. "You are right about one thing. You can go to a new town and start a new life, but not with someone who won't love you. This is your time, not ours."

The magistrate enters the small house accompanied by two soldiers, "Aurora Harkness, you are hereby placed under arrest for suspicion of consorting with the devil and placing spells which have afflicted members of my staff."

Jack picks up a knife and steps in front of Rory, "You are not taking her anywhere."

Nathaniel picks up his axe and stands besides Jack.

"What are you doing?" Rory asks the blacksmith.

"I am willing to defend you no matter the cost," he tells her.

"But that's just stupid," the alien replies. "You don't even know me."

"She's right, Nathaniel," Jack advises. "Real love means loving that person for who they are. You are merely infatuated with her."

"Stand aside boy, or you will be arrested as well," the magistrate threatens.

Knowing that life will be hell, not to mention short for the blacksmith if he stands up to the magistrate, Jack says. "Nathaniel, he's right about Rory. She is a witch. She and I have been lying to you all this time. Now, put down that axe before you find yourself in more trouble."

"I don't believe you," the blacksmith insists.

"It's true, Nathaniel," the alien, playing along with the Captain's ruse. "That's why I will never be able to love you. Don't fight for someone like me because I am not sorry that I deceived you."

"You lied to me?"

"I did what I had to," the alien says. "I wanted to survive."

Jack takes Rory's hand and tells the magistrate and Nathaniel, "There are no witches here other than the two of us because no one has the sort of power we have. I strongly suggest that you rethink what you call witchcraft after being face to face with the real thing."

"Rory," Owen says. "We're ready."

"Then, take me home," the alien says to her fiancée.

Tosh flips the switch, and in a flash of light, Rory and Jack appear in the spot where the chapel once was. Gwen is outside and is the first to greet them. She is about to hug Jack, but the Captain pushes her away gently.

"I haven't showered in a couple of days," Jack warns. "So you might not want to do that."

"They're back," Gwen announces over the comms.

"I know," Owen replies. "We're on our way."

Rory looks at her dress and says, "I can't let Owen see me like this."

"Gwen," Jack commands, "Bilis is still out there so I want you to stay with Rory at all times."

"Yes, sir," Gwen says. "Good to see you again."

"You, too. And that handsome husband of yours… if I wasn't taken, I'd suggest some sort of arrangement."

"But you are taken," Gwen reminds him.

"Yes. Yes, I am," Jack says with a huge grin. "And I cannot wait to see him again."

"Am I getting that shower or not?" Rory asks.

--

Before doing anything else, Jack goes down into the wine cellar.

"Yeah, great, I'm gone for a couple of days, and you kids have a make-out party," Jack sighs.

David wipes his wife's lipstick off his lips and points to Andy, "He started it."

Andy smiles sheepishly at Jack.

"Andy and I were celebrating your return," says a red-faced Toshiko. "For you, it was a couple of days. For us it was a couple of hours."

Jack gestures towards the rift manipulator/teleport, "And you mastered this beast in that time."

"I did have help," Tosh replies modestly.

"Baby, you are the greatest," Jack tells her. He opens up the teleport and takes out a stone.

He tosses it to David who says, "Well, I guess the days of teleportation are over."

"But Camenae stones are still lovely even after their energy is spent," Marianne comments.

"If we didn't give Bilis the right stone," Tosh asks. "What did we give him?"

"A piece of Egarian sapphire," Jack tells her. "I should have that thing cut and polished. They'd make you a nice pair of earrings."

"Perhaps Ianto knows a decent jeweler?" Tosh suggests.

"I bet he does. Now, if you'll excuse me, I should really get cleaned up for him," Jack says. "You kids go back to whatever you were doing."

"Jack," Tosh says before the Captain leaves. "What about Bilis?"

"I don't know. We'll see."

--

Ianto quickly packs away the psychic projector while whistling. "All right, Owen. I'm all set to go."

The liaison looks at him with a small snicker, "Dr. Harper is gone. He took the SUV with him. I suppose that he was in a hurry to see his bride."

"Right," Ianto says with a tight-lipped smile. "Because he was the only one who lost his lover for the last few hours."


	7. Tending To Wounds

A/N: Sorry about the delay, I have not been around the computer very much over the holidays.

* * *

**Tending to Wounds**

"So what happens now?" Andy asks as he and Tosh watch UNIT place handcuffs on Reginald.

"Obviously, intergalactic matters are too huge for the regular police force… or the Home Office for that matter," she replies.

"Yeah, but… do they have holding facilities of their own? Does he get a trial? Will his son be allowed to visit?" Andy asks.

Tosh leans on his shoulder for support, "Yes, UNIT does have its own prison. They will hold an inquiry, but Reginald will not be present. And as for his son…"

Andy realizes that his girlfriend is crying, and he lifts up her chin with his finger, "Tosh?"

"If he'd had known what he was risking, perhaps he would have never plotted to kidnap Rory. His mistake just cost him his son, and he'll never survive in that place. I don't know how I…"

"How you what?"

"How I survived," Tosh confesses.

Despite his shock, Andy holds onto Tosh gently, "Survived what?"

"Once upon a time, I did something very reckless, and it changed my life completely." Tosh pulls herself away. "If you never want to see me again…"

She doesn't finish her sentence and runs into the dining room to cry.

Andy follows her where she is sitting at the end of a long table that could easily seat twenty. She seems so small and so alone -- so different from the confident and determined woman he saw that afternoon.

"I want to know," he tells her.

With a deep breath, she decides to tell him how she got hired at Torchwood.

--

Rory steps out of the bathroom wearing a large, pink robe that makes her appear smaller than she already is. However, the robe provides some padding when Owen sweeps her in his arms and holds her as tightly as he can. He kisses her fiercely, but Rory slows him down as she runs her fingers along his neck. Suddenly, he's at peace again. He lowers her on the bed and lies next to her.

"Hello, gorgeous," he whispers.

"Hello, handsome," she replies. "You're still all dressed up."

"Pardon me, but I didn't stop to change in the past couple of hours."

She gasps in astonishment. "Past couple of hours? But we were there for two days."

"The timing was off, but I promise you that today is still our wedding day."

"What a day, then. I get stuck in Salem where I must serve dinner to an evil man and later get accused of witchcraft. But at least I know how to churn my own butter now."

"I killed a harpy."

"Did you, now?" Rory asks with a flirty smile on her face.

Glad to be her hero once again, Owen says with a smug look on his face, "Yeah, it was pretty big and nasty too. Tore up part of the city -- well, several restaurants and Tesco. Why food I wonder?"

"Didn't you read your mythology as a boy? That's what harpies do," she replies in a know-it-all tone of voice.

"Smart arse."

Rory giggles, "Yep, that's me, and you love it."

"I do. It's one of the things that made me fall in love with you."

"So what else happened?"

"At last count, 27 people were rushed to the A&E because of what Uncle Reggie and Bilis did," Owen reports.

"Any deaths?"

"Fortunately, none."

Rory holds onto Owen's shirt. Her voice cracks when she tells him, "In Salem, five innocent people were hanged for witchcraft."

"Don't talk of hanging. You could have been one of them," Owen says in despair. He tries in vain to hold back the tears.

"But I wasn't."

"He made me see you hang. If I lost you…"

Rory kisses his forehead and his cheeks, "I'm here where they can't touch me. I'm alive."

"God, I such a selfish tosser," Owen groans.

"Why?"

"Here I am going on and on about myself after you -- you were the one who was in danger. I should be comforting you."

"But it's all over now. It was frightening, I must admit. So many rules and restrictions… so many way to go wrong. And all we had of value was a pair of gold earrings, a locket an engagement ring that I cannot bear to part with, and a pair of anachronistic wristwatches. I even began to think perhaps Uncle Reggie is right about me, if you've always been right about me. I wonder if I really am a spoiled brat. Even Ianto says with enough money and intelligence, I can afford to be eccentric and slightly narcissistic, and nobody questions it. "

"You know Ianto and I only say that to you in teasing," Owen says gently.

"I know that, but certain things have always been easy for me. Imogene and Bertram made sure I always had everything I wanted, including my lab."

Owen rolls his eyes and asks sarcastically. "So do you want to add ungrateful to the list of your faults? It doesn't matter how you got your money, your lab or this house. I, myself, could give a rat's arse. It's what you do with that power that matters. That's how you know if you deserve it. No more of this pouting. It's undignified."

"And unbecoming of a Templeton," the alien jokes.

"So maybe I'm not that great at the comforting speeches?"

"It was what I needed to hear," Rory assures him.

"After all that's happened today, do you still want to get married?"

"It's not that I don't want to be your bride, Owen, but I just don't know."

--

Ianto opens the door of the room he and Jack shared at the Templeton mansion and finds his boyfriend sitting on the bed wrapped up in a towel and with his hair dripping wet. Jack's eyes are red.

"I could have lost her," Jack weeps. "I could have lost her just like I did her parents."

"Oh, Jack," Ianto murmurs as he sits next to him on the bed. He's well-aware of the Captain's seemingly endless capacity for guilt.

"You should have seen her, Ianto. That place was the opposite of everything she stands for, but she struggled to conform even though she can't help being who she is. And I felt so useless…"

"Don't," he whispers in Jack's ear. "Don't do this to yourself. You trained us well. You taught us what we needed to know to bring the two of you back. You can be proud of that."

"And to be in that unjust era and to be completely unable to do anything about it because of the time-lines…"

"I can't imagine the amount of self-control that must have taken."

"I'm so tired," Jack whimpers.

"It's okay. I'm here. Owen is taking care of Rory now, and he will do everything in his power to keep her safe. We also have Tosh and Gwen to help you carry the burden. Not to mention UNIT at our beck and call," Ianto says the last bit with a smile. "You don't have to be the Captain today."

"If I'm not the Captain, who am I?"

Ianto kisses Jack's lips tenderly before replying, "You are a good uncle to Rory."

"Yeah?"

"Yep," Ianto tells Jack as he cups the older man's face in his hands. "You are also a good friend to the people who care about you."

"What else?"

"You are part of my family because I love you."

"Speaking of families, there's still the wedding guests to deal with," Jack reminds him.

"Luckily most of whom are either military or UNIT. The rest will be easy to ret-con. They love their drink."

"I wouldn't be surprised if the drinking has begun already."

"In that case, I'm sure that Victoria Harper is hanging from the chandelier while her son proceeds to hit on every woman under forty in sight," Ianto quips. "I'm sure that they will be fine without us."

"I should make an appearance to reassure everyone that the bride is safe," Jack says as he gets up from the bed.

Ianto glances at the towel and teases, "You're not wearing that are you?"

"Why? Does it make my ass look too big?" the Captain jokes.

"No, it looks gorgeous, but I can only imagine Victoria's reaction when she sees you in that."

"You might have a genuine fight on your hands."

"I can take her," Ianto responds.

"At least you have good aim with cuff-link boxes," Jack quips.

"Maybe I'll let her kiss you once to make up for that, but I draw the line at letting her cup your balls."

Jack begins to laugh and jumps his boyfriend. The younger man grunts as Jack's full weight falls on top of him, but, once recovered, he kisses the Captain passionately.

"I missed you," Jack sighs.

"Did you?" Ianto asks in between kisses. "No cute lumberjacks… or blacksmiths… to flirt with?"

"In Puritan town?" Jack asks sarcastically. "Okay, there was one blacksmith… who allowed me to sleep… in his bed."

Ianto flips the Captain on his back and pins his arm down on the bed, "And you always accept the kindness of strangers."

"He was completely straight."

"Even around you? I've heard stories that you've made a few conversions…"

"It wasn't like that," Jack insists. "I do feel sorry for the guy. He was kind to us, and Rory had to break his heart."

"You can't help who you love," Ianto says with a shrug. "He will heal, and if he is a good man, he will find someone else."

Jack decides not to respond to Ianto's comment. Instead he asks, "How long do you reckon we've got before the others start to miss us?"

"Maybe long enough for a quick hand job?"

Jack shakes his head. "I just want to lie in your arms for a bit."

"That can be arranged," Ianto says. He shifts around to make himself comfortable.

Jack places his head on his lover's chest, closes his eyes and stops being the Captain if only for a little while.

--

When Tosh is finished telling Andy her story, she studies his face in an attempt to gauge his response. His mouth is slightly opened. His eyes are wide open. He sits in a tense and rigidly upright position with his palms flat on the table. He doesn't look at her. He doesn't seem focused on anything at all.

Andy looks at her and opens his mouth moves as if he were about to speak, but there is no sound. Instead, he rattles his chair nervously as he stands.

"Tosh, I…" he squeaks.

He doesn't finish his thought and exits the room.

Tosh wants to cry because she knows that she's lost him, but she doesn't shed one tear. She doesn't have the energy.

Gwen enters the dining room with Rhys following closely.

"There you are, love," Gwen says cheerfully. "The hero of the hour."

Tosh smiles weakly.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" the former PC asks.

"I told Andy the truth about how I started working for Torchwood."

"How did he take it?" Gwen asks.

The computer expert sighs, "Well, it's over for one thing."

"Do you want me to talk to him?" Gwen offers.

She shakes her head.

"We could always ret-con him," Gwen suggests.

"If I do, he'll go back to thinking that I don't trust him, and if I don't, he might not speak to me again anyway," Tosh reasons.

"Well, if you do ret-con him, then it gives you the opportunity to start over."

"Then, what lie do I tell him to explain the big gap in his memory?" Tosh asks. "Do you really want me to start over that way?"

"Jack will want to ret-con him anyway," Gwen reminds her.

"It's a no-win situation," the computer expert says in defeat. "It was fun while it lasted."

Gwen looks up at Rhys with her doe-eyes. He quietly nods and leaves the room as Owen and Rory enter. Despite her own sadness, Tosh gets up and hugs Rory who is wearing a Gay Rodeo t-shirt with a green fuzzy scarf .

"I'm so glad that you're okay!" Tosh says as she tries to smile through her own sadness.

"So glad to see you, too," the alien replies.

"So, where's Andy?" Owen asks.

When Tosh doesn't answer, Gwen replies, "He knows about her and UNIT."

"But surely he understands the circumstances," Rory exclaims. "If I was in your situation, I would have done the same."

"Look, if you want me to kick that boy's arse," Owen offers.

"Thank you, but no," Tosh replies. "But Rory, there's something that I need to tell you about UNIT prisons, something that you need to know. Your uncle will be locked up in a tiny cell without a bed to sleep on. It's always so cold, but he won't have a blanket. The food is inedible, but he will have no choice. I don't think I spent a day in there without feeling sick to my stomach. He's an old man, Rory, and he's still your uncle."

"Who tried to get rid of her," Owen reminds her.

"For UNIT, any enemy is seen as the scum of the universe, regardless of gender, age, or species. No one was there to intercede on my behalf, and I got the worst treatment imaginable," Tosh tells the alien. "You have some influence. You could at least make sure that he gets treated with some dignity."

"I'll see what I can do," Rory replies. "It'll be my gift to you for saving me."

--

"Where you going then?" Rhys asks.

With his keys in his hand, Andy turns around and leans on the car door to face Rhys, "I just need to clear my head."

"Knowing all of this… what you know now… it's not easy," Rhys tells him.

"At least your girl's never done hard time."

"Right. Don't know the particulars," Rhys says with a shrug. "But I do know that Tosh is a good woman. She's more intelligent that any human I know. She's dedicated to what she does. She's saved Gwen countless of times. You know that she's a brave one for sticking her neck to save the world. And for all that effort -- all that dedication and sacrifice -- she expects no thanks. She does it because she believes in humanity. No, I can't claim to know what she did in the past, but I do know who she is now. I also know that you'd be a bloody fool to let her go."

"What do I do with all that I know now?"

"Join the club. At least you're in the know. It's worse being kept in the dark."

"I'd like to be in the dark again. I miss the dark. The dark was a nice, cozy vacation in Blissful Ignorance."

"You know, Gwen disappeared one time without any word. I was cleaning up the flat one day, and she comes home and starts going on about how I am okay. It was as if she thought she'd never see me again. Anyway, she tells me to go to bed, and that she'll be back in a bit. She didn't come back for four days. I tried calling her cell phone, but she never picked up. Back then, I didn't know about Torchwood, so I didn't even know where she was."

"I remember that," Andy says. "You called me. Some of us on the force went out looking for her. What happened?"

"She comes back home, and she's furious about something. She's stomping about the flat like a petulant child, but she treats me as if she's only been gone for a couple of hours. When I finally say something to her, she starts to cry about how she's taken me for granted. She swears that she loves me and that she'll never leave me. She begs me to forgive her."

"And you did?"

"Because I'm a bloody idiot."

"Did Gwen tell you where she buggered off to?"

"Eventually. By the time she did, I suppose that it didn't matter," Rhys says. He knows that Jack is happy with Ianto, and since the body switching incident, the Captain looks at Gwen very differently. They still flirt, but Jack does it out of habit rather than actual interest.

"And how is this little story supposed to be reassuring?" Andy comments.

"Because the truth was better that being in that flat, sick with worry, making up all these scenarios about how'd she'd been kidnapped. Back then, I kept wondering if she was having an affair. Lord knows that there have been some nights that it was obvious that she didn't want to be with me."

"Tosh is never like that," Andy comments. "She sometimes holds me so tightly that it hurts."

"Lucky you."

"But she never tells me why."

"I'll bet she will now. That woman's been alone for two long. She's so strong for everyone else, but she needs someone to be strong for her. You up to the challenge?"

"I wish I knew," Andy says with a sigh.

"So what are you going to do now?" Rhys asks.

Andy puts the keys back into his pocket and says, "I think I need to walk… and think."

--

When Jack and Ianto manage to drag themselves out of the bedroom, Tosh and Gwen sit at the bottom of the staircase while Owen paces around in the foyer.

"What's going on?" the Captain asks.

"Rory is negotiating with UNIT over the terms of Reginald's custody," Gwen replies.

"I should go in there," Jack says.

Owen snickers.

"What?" Jack asks.

"Does anyone actually ever say 'no' to her?" the medic asks.

Jack replies with a chuckle as he imagines Rory standing before the officers, carefully laying out her demands in an impassive voice. They will raise their voices, but she won't bat an eyelash. Light Keepers are infinitely infuriating in their resolute calm.

Finally, Rory emerges from the study with Kevin and two superior officers behind her. The officers salute her nervously. One of them stops before leaving the house and says to Tosh, "I am very, very sorry."

"I'm here for less than an hour and already I'm throwing my weight around," the alien says. "I thought I was supposed to have learned my lesson about humility."

"You are who you are, Rory," Jack tells her. "And I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Neither would I," Ianto concurs. "Anyone who can negotiate successfully while wearing Gay Rodeo shirt demands my highest respect."

The alien says to the Welshman, "Hey, you."

"Hey yourself," he replies.

"So what happened?" Tosh inquires.

"Uncle Reggie will be placed in a minimum security cell due to his age and will be allowed certain creature comforts such as a decent bed for his back and access to an approved list of books," Rory reports. "He'll eat the same meals as the other prisoners, but the food situation will be improved for all."

"Thank you," Tosh tells her.

Kevin takes Rory's hand and says, "You did all that even though…even though we've always treated you like less of a Templeton."

"You don't have to thank me. I did it for my friend." she replies. "And well, you've also come around in these past few months. I appreciate that."

"I'm very sorry that your day turned out like this," Kevin laments.

Owen embraces Rory and kisses her cheek, "Don't worry about it, mate. As a wise woman once told me, the two of us are already connected. Marriage is merely a formality."

"You not getting married?" Tosh asks.

Owen and Rory exchange glances. "Well, maybe not today," he informs her.

"Why not?" Tosh exclaims.

"Do we really want our special day to be remembered as the time Uncle Reggie went to jail?" Rory asks.

"Or the day harpies terrorized Cardiff," Owen adds. "It seemed a bit naff to go on."

"But today, you proved that you have this connection that defies space and time," Tosh insists. "I can't imagine anything more romantic. What happened to true love conquering all?"

"I sort of left my dress in Salem," Rory tells her.

"I could find you something," Ianto offers.

"What do you say, Kevin?" Rory asks.

Her cousin says, "You don't have to worry about me. I'd be happy if you got married anyway."

Lillian Jones enters from the kitchen with a grim look on her face, "I'm afraid that the harpies made a mess of the wedding feast. We've had to throw it all out."

"But they didn't get to the wedding cake," David Goodall reports.

Ianto takes out his handkerchief and wipes a bit of frosting from his grandfather's face.

Martha stumbles out of the sitting room where she's been cooped up for the past three hours with the other wedding guests. Jack rushes to her side guides her around the shattered remains of a grandfather clock.

"We've resorted to gin and karaoke in there," Martha informs them. "Colin is about to sing 'Just a Gigolo' in case you're wondering."

"We should probably get married before they all get pissed," Owen mutters to his bride-to-be. "If that's what you want."

Rory places her hand in his.


	8. It's A Nice Day For A White Wedding

"**It's A Nice Day For A White Wedding/**

**It's A Nice Day To Start Again"**

It's shortly after midnight when Rory creeps down the stairs towards the kitchen, but she pauses briefly to peek inside the ballroom that is still decorated for her reception. There she finds Jack, sitting alone in the dark. She walks up to him and wraps her arms around his neck.

"Hey, you," he whispers.

"That's Ianto's line," she replies. "Speaking of him…"

"By the time he got done with the reports, he could barely keep his eyes open."

"Poor lamb," Rory murmurs affectionately as she pulls up a chair next to her uncle.

"And Owen?" Jack inquires.

"A brass band could give a concert in the bedroom, and that wouldn't be enough to rouse him."

"It's been a long day for both of them."

"You know I'm very sorry," Rory insists.

"For what?"

"Putting you through everything. Had I been nicer to Uncle Reggie…"

"It may not have changed anything," Jack tells her.

"Uncle Jack, did you ever think about using the teleport?"

"To get home?"

Rory nods.

"I thought about it," Jack admits. "But I wanted to make sure that you and your parents got home safely. Then, they died before they ran the final tests, and you became Bertram's top priority instead of continuing his work -- not that he nor I could make heads or tails of Hector's notes. Only Ana Lucia could sort out that mess."

"And you had to wait for the Doctor," Rory guesses.

"That, too. And after I found him, I realized that this is where I wanted to be."

"We could get the teleport to work again."

"If we don't have the Camenae stone, we'd have to use the rift, and that would be too risky. But if you want to work with Tosh on an alternative source of energy, be my guest."

"Following in my parent's footsteps…Sometimes, I wonder how different my life would have been if they were still alive."

"And?"

"I have to stop myself because it's too sad to think about."

Jack pulls Rory to her feet and hugs her. "Come on, you should get to bed. You are getting married tomorrow no matter what it takes, and Ianto will pitch a fit if he sees you with puffy eyes."

Together, they walk up the stairs to their rooms.

--

It's two o'clock in the morning, and Andy is pacing around his flat, unable to sleep. He replays the message on his answering machine:

"Andy? It's me, Rhys. Listen, the wedding has been postponed for obvious reasons. It's being held tomorrow at the Templeton estate at four o'clock. You are still Tosh's plus one, and I'm sure that she'd be happy to see you there. See you, mate."

Andy lies down on the right side of the bed and thinks of all the reasons why he should just break up with Tosh. He even tries to come up with a good break-up speech. However, he realizes that he has a side of the bed now when before he usually took up the whole mattress. He likes having a side of the bed if it means waking up to Tosh's face.

When he tries to imagine her in a tiny, cold prison cell, he can't. All he can think about is how innocent she looks when she sleeps, and how he loves to think that he's protecting her in those moments, how she makes him feel needed.

Andy yawns and decides to sleep on it. Things will certainly look clearer in the morning.

--

Owen wakes up with Rory's head on his chest.

"Good morning," she whispers.

"Isn't it bad luck to see the bride before the wedding?" Owen mutters.

"We tried to uphold that superstition. Remember where that got us?" she retorts.

He smiles and kisses the top of her head.

Colin stumbles into the bedroom, wailing, "God, we've must have had one hell of a stag night because I can't remember a bloody thing."

"Knock first, then enter," Owen groans.

Colin takes a look at Rory and then glances back at Owen. "You really couldn't keep your hands off each other for one night? Isn't it bad luck?"

"First, how could I possibly stay away from this gorgeous man? And, second, there's no such thing bad luck," Rory replies.

"I really like this woman," Colin comments before he slips out of the room.

--

In the morning, Jack finds Ianto in the library, going over a checklist with Rory's lab assistant, Max.

The frail-looking young man looks up at the confident Welshman with a fretful smile and tells him, "I'll get right on it."

Max awkwardly salutes the Captain as he leaves the room.

"Any problems?" Jack asks.

"You mean about the wedding or Max?" Ianto replies.

"What about Max?"

"He's taken so many different anxiety medications that he's ret-con immune."

"So he knows about Rory?"

"For months now," Ianto says with a bemused grin. "But he won't tell. He's faithful to Rory. He's also helping with the alibi for the others and is taking care of the music for the wedding and the reception."

"Wow. Does this mean that you are actually delegating tasks?"

"Yes. Rhys and Gwen are picking up the suits and dresses from the overnight dry-cleaner. Tosh is taking care of the flowers. My grandparents are taking care of the food. Mum is taking care of the dress."

"So we won't have a repeat of any obsessive compulsive behavior?"

Ianto scoffs, "I'm not that bad."

Jack raises an eyebrow.

Ianto bristles against the accusation, "I've seen worse. Haven't you?"

Jack responds with a snicker.

"In all your years, you've never met a soul with a greater gift for organization?" the younger man asks.

"Once, but he was on so many meds that he was ret-con immune. Poor bastard."

Ianto groans as he leans in to kiss Jack.

"I'm serious," Jack says as he wraps his arms around Ianto's waist. "Obsessive compulsion disorder is a terrible disease, but I can cure it without medication or therapy."

"How?"

The Captain nibbles on Ianto's earlobe and whispers, "Lots and lots of spontaneous sex."

"Of course," the young man replies with a breathy moan.

"You know, I haven't had sex in over two days."

"Ah, this is awkward because I had sex with this fit bloke the other night -- twice. Once in an alleyway outside a strip club; the other time in a very luxurious bed."

"You, dirty whore."

Ianto leans in and nips Jack's lower lip, "You're damn right, but patience, cariad. I've got a busy day ahead of me."

"Pretty please?" Jack groans.

"Good things come to those who wait," Ianto replies slyly.

"In that case, I'm going back to the hub," Jack says.

"For what?"

The Captain flashes him a dazzling smile, "You'll just have to wait and see."

--

During the day, Ianto coordinates the wedding preparations with the ease and confidence of a master film director preparing for a scene on a lavish film set. No detail goes unnoticed, but he knows that he can count on the rest of the team to do their job well. Jack sneaks in from time to time and steals kisses, but he knows that when Ianto is focused on a job, nothing can stop the man from getting it done. The personality trait is the cause for Jack's unending pride and his current sexual frustration.

However, the Captain has the task of collecting the items in Bertram's private lab and having them sent back to Torchwood before UNIT can claim them. He also collects Bertram's old notebooks, his alien souvenirs, and a few family photographs to keep for himself.

Later in the bridal suite, Lillian Jones asks, "How does that feel?"

"Fantastic!" Rory exclaims. She wears a strapless gown with a skirt that resembles a giant chrysanthemum. The petals flutter softly as she spins around.

"It fits like a glove. You still have the family eye," Ianto says as he gives his mother a hug.

"Oh, that's so very Rory," Tosh says as soon as she walks in the room with the bride's bouquet.

The Welshman takes her hand and inquires, "How are you holding up?"

Tosh smiles bravely, "I'll be okay. Just save me a dance later, will you?"

He bows and tells her, "I'd be honored to."

Jack enters the room wearing his old military uniform, which causes Ianto's eyes to almost pop out of their sockets.

Lillian says very sweetly, "Close your mouth, dear. You don't want to get drool on your suit."

Jack smirks triumphantly and tells her, "That was just the reaction I was looking for."

Rory's lab partner, Nancy, peeks into the room and asks, "Ready, love?"

The alien takes her uncle's arm and says, "Here's to true love conquering all."

--

With the chapel gone, the ceremony itself is moved to the library where the magistrate marries them at the base of a large ornate staircase spiraling toward the bookshelves above. Max plays "Birdhouse In Your Soul" on a harp as Rory enters the room and walks towards the groom. Jack hands her to Owen and gives the happy couple a wink before taking his seat next to Ianto.

"Dearly beloved," the magistrate says, "We are gathered here today the celebrate the love between this man and this woman as they commit their lives together in matrimony."

Tosh looks on wistfully as the magistrate continues his speech. Owen cannot take his eyes off his bride. Gwen rests her head on Rhys's shoulder. Jack holds onto Ianto's hand. She's happy for them, but she can still feel a lump forming in her throat as she thinks about her current situation. She knows that she is a strong woman, but it was nice to have something other than the flotsam and jetsam that floats in through the rift. It was nice to have a refuge in Andy's arms. However, when things begin to feel bleak, Andy slips into the room. He sheepishly waves at her and takes his place among the guests.

Owen gives his wedding vows: "When I met you, I didn't want love. I didn't think I needed it, but for a reason I couldn't quite understand at the time, I couldn't stay away from you. But now, I know what you've done to me. I know that our love is the emotional side-effect of a biological electro-chemical addiction, but I don't want to get over it. I want more. I need more. I will gladly spend the rest of my life as your junkie if you'll let me. You are my light in the face of darkness. You are reason enough to keep fighting."

The magistrate is a bit of a loss for words after that speech, but he manages to squeak out, "Aurora?"

"Thank you. Thank you for accepting me for who I am and gladly allowing me to be myself. I know putting up with all my strange little quirks as well as my sense of entitlement cannot be an easy task. I want you to know that I am your willing partner in all your schemes and that I will be your refuge when you need to find peace. You'll always be a part of me. You'll always be in my heart, and no matter what happens, I'll know what it is to truly love someone because of you."

"The rings, please."

The Captain dabs his eyes with his handkerchief. For a moment, his mind wanders to his own wedding so many years ago. Only six guests were present and all of them were on the bride's side. Yet, he felt so happy in that moment the size of the event didn't matter. However brief their relationship was in the grand scheme of things, however great the pain was after he lost her, he never regretted loving her. Ianto squeezes Jack's hand, and the familiar feeling washes over the Captain.

"With this ring, I thee wed," Owen says.

"With this ring, I thee wed," Rory repeats.

Rhys glances briefly at Jack and then back at Gwen. He finds it hard to believe that she chose him over someone that dashing. True, the handsome teaboy probably had something to do with that, but all the same, it's flattering. Yet, he wonders why it all has to be so complicated. He muses that perhaps that's the only way to know if love is truly worth it. Well, that's the best idea he's got, while not necessarily the most satisfactory one. Of course, against all reason, he loves Gwen. What does he know about the subject of true love?

"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Owen cups her face and kisses her with a building passion and intensity. When it's over he doesn't notice the cheering. He sighs in relief because, finally, he is a married man.

"All right, everyone," Rory announces. "Let's party!"

--

As the guests extend their best wishes to the bride and groom, Andy pulls Tosh aside in the hallway.

"I guess I freaked out," he tells her as he shoves his hands deep in his pockets.

"It's a perfectly understandable reaction. You went through a lot yesterday."

"Yeah. I got to see who you really are."

Tosh shrugs and gazes at the floor beneath her feet, "A former inmate. I know…"

"No, not just that," Andy says as he lifts up her chin. "You're brilliant. Incredibly, jaw-dropping brilliant. I've always known that you're brighter than I am, but you are light years ahead of me. I wonder what you're doing with someone like me."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I mean, I like to think that I'm not the dullest tool in the shed. That's Rhys, but you… wow. And I've always been a bit intimidated by you which is why I feel as though I have to try so hard."

"But now that you know all about me…"

"Don't really know what to think about that other part of your life. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around it. But while I'm doing that, I'd still like to spend time with you so that you can remind me of what a great woman you are now."

Tosh grins from ear to ear, "Okay."

"Okay, then," the PC says with an anxious smile. "You know, I never thought someone like you would happen to me."

"Neither did I, but I'm glad you're here."

"So am I." Andy offers her his arm, "Shall we?"

"Yes."

--

As the guests enjoy the rather eclectic buffet that Ianto's grandparents put together, Colin taps his fork to his glass, "Ladies and gentleman, if I could have your attention, please."

"This should be interesting," Rhys mutters to Andy, Tosh, and Gwen.

Once all eyes are on him, Colin begins, "I am not here to toast my older brother on his recent nuptial, I am here to offer my deepest condolences to the bride because the way I see it, she has gotten the raw end of the deal. I think we can agree that we don't have to speak of money. However, I will say that Aurora has the cool job that she can discuss with great enthusiasm, but if I have to hear about the inner workings of the cardiovascular system from Owen one more time…" Colin says before he feigns snoring.

"So that's how you keep him from asking too many details," Rory whispers to Owen.

Colin continues, "He's an old curmudgeon way before his time. In the looks department, Rory is the winner while there's something about my dear brother's face that has always made me suspect that his real family caused all that fuss in Roswell in the fifties. I reckon one day the mother-ship will land, and she will reclaim her alien prince which might place Rory back on the market."

"Sorry, darling," Rory says. "But I shall be on the mother-ship with him."

"Go and kill my hopes, why don't you, sweetheart?" Colin replies. "So what does he have to offer the bride who has it all? His deep love, his understanding, his devotion, his courage, his strength. If he gives you anything less, Aurora, you know where to find me… He may be my brother, but we'll take him to the cleaners in the divorce. But for now, since she is resolute in her foolish mistake, I have no choice but to congratulate the happy couple. Here's to Owen and Rory and to many, many happy years."

"To Owen and Rory," the crowd cheers.

"Ah, brotherly love," Rory sighs.

Owen chuckles and replies, "Yeah? Well, now, he's your brother, too, babe. It's too late to get out of this family."

**

Later, as Ianto watches in amusement, Jack dances with all of the women and some of the willing men, including Rhys, Andy, and Owen. Ianto tries not to choke from laughter as Jack dances with Victoria Harper who has her hands all over the Captain's ass.

When he's dancing and flirting a little with Martha, Gwen walks up to Ianto and asks, "Don't you ever get really jealous?"

Ianto glances briefly at Gwen and replies, "Only when I perceive a serious threat."

"And have you?"

Ianto raises an eyebrow and replies, "Not lately."

"So things are good between the two of you?"

"As good as they get in spite of sudden disappearances."

"Do you think that you and Jack will ever get a civil partnership?" Gwen asks.

"I don't need one," Ianto replies. "I am completely committed to him."

"What about him? He hasn't danced with you all evening," Gwen comments.

"No, he hasn't."

"And that doesn't bother you?"

"Not at all. He'll come back to me. He always does," Ianto replies.

They watch Jack chat whisper in the ear of a handsome UNIT soldier who blushes and laughs.

"You sound very certain," Gwen says.

"All I have is faith, really. Unlike Rory and Owen or my grandparents, that's all we have, isn't it? But I know him; I know what we have; and that is good enough for me."

Jack walks up to Ianto with his hands behind his back. He briefly acknowledges Gwen, but he is fixated on his lover's eyes.

"What have you been up to?" the Welshman asks suspiciously.

"I got you something," Jack says with a playful smirk. He places a red cap on Ianto's head and steps back to take a better look. "Oh, this is better than I pictured it."

"So what did you have to do to get this?"

"Nothing reproachable. I just have to give the man a full briefing of all activities performed in that cap. He wants photographs as well."

"Does he?" Ianto asks as he becomes slightly flustered. Jack just loves him for it.

Gwen groans loudly, "Should I be listening to this?"

Jack ignores her question completely. "Care to dance?" he asks in the manner of a dare.

"It's about fucking time," Ianto growls. "If you'll pardon us, Gwen."

"You boys go right ahead," she replies.

Gwen watches the two men on the dance floor swaying to "Time After Time." Ianto's grandmother picks up on the longing expression on the Welshwoman's face as her eyes follow every one of Jack's steps.

She approaches Gwen and says, "My dear, you'd be a lot happier if you appreciated the things you do have rather than brood over all the things that you don't."

"Is that some sort of Light Keeper philosophy?" Gwen snaps back without thinking.

Marianne's eyes literally flare with indignation even though the rest of her countenance is serene. It sends shivers down Gwen's spine.

The older woman replies stiffly, "Yes, it is, dear, but I see that the Buddhists share the same opinion. Actually, it's really a matter of plain…common…sense."

Rhys interrupts them and asks jovially, "You girls having a lovely time?"

"Yes," Marianne answers, sighing contentedly. "It's a rather pleasant wedding considering the circumstances."

"A happy couple who are truly in love, family, good friends, great wine -- that's all you really need," Rhys says.

"I think Owen and Rory would agree," Marianne concurs. "What do you say, Gwen?"

"Yes, I think so," she replies in an eager manner as if she is trying to compensate for her embarrassment. "Come one, Rhys. Let me see you shake that arse."

"With pleasure," he says.

David walks up to Marianne asks, "You giving that nice, young girl trouble again? Shame on you."

"But it's so much fun," Ianto's gran purrs.

**

As Ianto dances with his head on Jack's shoulder, the Captain's pheromones become increasingly heady. With each step, both men are growing harder. With each second, their desire is becoming more and more difficult to ignore.

"Gwen was wondering why you didn't dance with me earlier," Ianto whispers.

"Did you tell her it's because I'm so incredibly horny that I might tear your clothes off after a given length of real contact?"

"You know I don't kiss and tell."

"Yes, you do, and I can always tell when you've been gossiping. Toshiko can't look me in the eye afterwards without exploding into a fit of giggles."

"Tosh has no poker face," Ianto sighs.

"But that's why we love her," Jack replies.

Ianto looks around and notices that Tosh is dancing happily with Andy. Martha is with Tom. His mother is engaged in conversation with Rory's personal assistant. Owen and Rory are laughing with David and Marianne. Colin is doing his best to get into Nancy's knickers while Nancy is making a half-hearted attempt to play hard-to-get. No one would miss him if he disappeared with the Captain for a bit.

"They will cut the wedding cake soon. Do you think that we might find a nice bottle of port in the cellar if we look hard enough?" the Welshman suggests.

"There's quite a selection down there. It might take some time to find the right one," Jack murmurs seductively.

They slip out of the ballroom undetected and make a mad dash towards the wine cellar.

However, when they open the cellar door, Jack draws his gun and mutters, "Seriously! Can't a man get a little alone time with his boyfriend?"

* * *

A/N: The tile of this chapter is from the Billy Idol song, of course. One more chapter to go.


	9. After The Wedding

**A/N: **Thank you for reading this fic and adding it to your story alerts. This is for TheRavenClawNinja and hotflower901. You are fabulous.

And sorry for the delay.

* * *

**After The Wedding**

Jack stands protectively in front of Ianto as Bilis sits in the wine cellar holding the spent Camenae stone.

"What are you doing here?" Jack demands.

"I came for a nice bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon and the stone. I might at least get some money for it," Bilis replies. "You can put your gun down, Captain. We both know it won't do you much good."

Jack places his gun back in his holster and moves carefully towards Bilis, "And now that you have them?"

"Now that you are here, a little conversation might be nice."

"After all the hurt you've caused?" Jack replies.

"You don't understand do you?" Bilis replies. "You have been around for so many years, but you are still in your prime. You do not understand what it is like when your own body betrays you and can no longer give you any pleasure. You don't know what it is like when you can no longer enjoy the foods you once loved, or when your eyes and ears begin to fail you, or when your body aches from years of use. How would you begin to understand the mind of a diseased, old man?"

Jack scoffs and shakes his head. "Even so, I would never try to destroy anyone else's happiness for a pipe dream."

"I did it because I had hope. That stone was my pathway to regeneration."

"Maybe your time on Earth is coming to a natural end," Jack says. "What I would give to be able to follow the man I love into the dark -- to no longer have to watch the people that I care about leave me one by one? You should know as well as I do the loneliness of our lot. Why cling to that life?"

"Even in my condition, I am not ready to let go."

"Is anyone ever ready?" Ianto asks.

"I could offer you a full medical examination," Jack tells him.

"In return for my freedom," Bilis mutters.

Looking into the eyes of the elderly time-traveller, Jack finds no reason to lie because Bilis would see right through him, "If I could arrest you right now and prevent you from ever disappearing again, I would."

"Then, we are at an impasse, Captain, but I can assure you that there is nothing to be done about my condition. The background radiation from my time travels strengthened my immune system, but my immune system has turned on me. My body has begun to attack itself. It will be a slow process, but for now, I refuse to spend my last good months locked in a cell chasing another lost hope. So I must say, goodbye, Captain."

"What will you do now?" Ianto asks.

"I may find a warm beach somewhere and sit. I may smile at a beautiful boy much like yourself."

"If I could lock you away right now…" Jack says through gritted teeth.

"Don't fret, Captain, six months from now, I will no longer be alive to be a threat," Bilis says. "Perhaps you might find me one day lying in a hospital bed, unable to run, unable to do much of anything. A prisoner of my pain."

"I'd be inclined to allow you to suffer," Jack tells him.

"And I thought that you would relish the idea of putting me out of my misery like some sick animal," Bilis comments.

Neither Jack nor Ianto have an answer.

"If I apologized, would she forgive me?" the elderly man inquires.

"Who?" Jack asks.

"The girl."

"She has a name!" Jack growls.

"Would she?"

"She's seen what disease can do, but I'd say that she feels the same way as the Captain," Ianto answers.

"Send her my deepest regrets, anyway," Bilis says before he bows politely at both men and vanishes.

"How do we know that he isn't lying about having only six months left?" Ianto asks.

"Rory saw him die. She felt the blood run through his veins. She knows his heart is weak and that it won't last."

"And one less thing to worry about, then," Ianto says morbidly.

"I wonder if I'll ever grow old," Jack says.

"I wonder the same thing about myself. Although I can't imagine that you will still be interested in me when I'm in my seventies with an arthritic back and a bad case of gout."

"I will still love you."

Ianto smiles. He knows that the Captain will feel the same affection that he felt for Estelle, but Jack's love will not have the same passion that it does now. He knows that the traditional marriage vows do not apply to them.

"Let's find that bottle," Ianto says.

--

Jack and Ianto go back upstairs with the bottle of port in time for Owen and Rory to cut the cake. Jack dances with Rory one more time, and he remembers her as a child and how much she wanted to be just like her mother. They cheer as Toshiko catches the bouquet just before it reaches Allison's hands.

Just before she leaves for her honeymoon, the bride hugs Ianto and tells him, "Thank you for everything."

"Whatever the future may hold, I wanted to make this a day you will always remember," he replies.

"I will," she promises.

Jack holds Rory's hand and tells her, "I know that I am a poor substitute for your father, but I am glad that I could be here for you, today."

Rory hugs him tightly and kisses his cheek.

Jack shakes Owen's hand. "Promise me that you will do your best to make her smile every day."

"I will," the medic responds.

The Captain musses Owen's hair and gives him a hug.

Ianto and Jack watch the newlyweds speed away in the limo so that they can catch the red-eye flight to Cancun.

Before Tosh leaves with Andy, Jack stops her and hands her a white pill.

She looks up at him and says, "You know how grateful I am to you. You came into my life when it was practically over and you offered me the universe."

"Because I knew you were special," Jack replies.

"Andy offers me the Earth and all the normalcy it has to offer, but I can't keep him if I can't share my world with him."

"He's a security risk," Jack reminds her.

"He knows that any indiscretions will put my life in danger."

"Do you trust him?"

"I have to. This thing that we have won't work without trust."

Jack kisses Tosh on her forehead and tells her, "I hope you're right about him."

"I hope so, too."

"You know, if he hurts you, Ianto and I can make him enter a world of pain."

"I think you already frighten him a little," Tosh says with a slight giggle.

"Give him my love."

"Thank you." Tosh says. "You're like a father to me, or an older brother -- whatever you prefer."

"You will always be my girl," Jack assures her.

The Captain watches her take Andy's hand.

Gwen walks up to Jack and tells him, "Well, Rhys and I are off."

"Thank you for your help with the wedding."

"It was nothing," Gwen says. "I know how important she is to you."

"You go home and enjoy the rest of your evening with Rhys. We have the night off with no responsibilities," Jack reminds her.

"And how often does that happen?" she replies with a laugh. "You take care of Ianto."

"Always," Jack vows.

Jack and Ianto say good-night to the rest of the guests and give the staff their final orders of the day. As they walk up the stairs, the Captain walks behind Ianto and begins to grope the young man. The Welshman loosens his tie when he feels Jack's hands caress his thighs. When they are at the top of the stairs and leaning over the railing of the balcony, Jack presses his erection against his lover's ass. He also undoes Ianto's belt and sticks his hand inside the pinstriped trousers. They watch the staff move in and out of the foyer as they go about their business. Nobody realizes that Jack is teasing Ianto until the Welshman cries out in pleasure. A maid looks up, and the Captain gives her a wink while the young man snickers.

They tumble into their room where they shed their clothes as quickly as possible. Ianto moves onto the bed while the older man finds the lubricant and prepares himself. After a few quick kisses, the Captain enters his lover. Jack watches the young man pant and shudder underneath him. He listens to his name being repeated over and over in a raspy voice. He feels those beautiful hands grip onto his back as he inches his way deeper into the young man. They are breathing in unison, moving together toward the same goal. Ianto has his eyes closed, concentrating on how Jack feels -- the older man's sweat dripping on his shoulder, the size of the member filling his body, those fingers as they work their magic on his cock. Only Jack's declaration of love causes the young man to open his eyes.

Jack rolls over on his back, red-faced and gasping for air, feeling sated and alive.

"Oh, I needed that," he sighs.

After cleaning themselves up a bit, they both crawl under the duvet.

"You know, after that wedding, I think I am going to need a vacation," Ianto mutters as he hooks a leg over his boyfriend.

Jack replies with a smirk. "So I take it that your days as a wedding planner are over?"

"While I did enjoy the experience, two weddings in two days was perhaps too much."

"Is that your way of asking for time off tomorrow?"

"May I?"

Jack furrows his brow and says, "We have some equipment to catalogue."

"Yes, we do," Ianto responds with a hint of resignation in his voice. "Meanwhile, Owen will be basking under the warm Mexican sun."

"However, I don't think that anyone would begrudge us if we slept in tomorrow."

"How about we stay here until noon?" Ianto asks.

"How about we stay here for two or three days?" Jack replies as he kisses the Welshman's hand.

"I was only kidding. There's plenty to do at the hub. We have responsibilities."

"Kevin Templeton has to go back to London, so the house will be empty, except for the staff. Tosh has to sort through some of the items first and decide what's still useable and what to archive. We can monitor rift activity from here, and I was thinking about installing a new security system in the cellar. It could be our special project."

"So staying here has nothing to do with the 1,000 thread count sheets, the pool house, the full staff at our disposal, including a gourmet chef, or the desire to have your way with me in the stables," Ianto says with a small smirk on his face.

"We haven't tried the whole stable boy fantasy, yet. I wonder where I can find a riding crop," Jack replies. "But our stay will be strictly business."

"Of course," Ianto agrees. The room falls silent. The Welshman smiles and bites his lip.

"Are you having a sexy librarian fantasy?" Jack asks.

"I was thinking about the library. However, you were an incorrigible scholar, and I was your strict tutor."

The Captain stares up at the ceiling. His face has a positively deviant expression. "So many rooms."

"So many possibilities."

"I've always wanted to be the lord of a manor," Jack states.

Ianto replies, "So let's play house."

--

Andy drops Tosh back at her flat and even carries her bag which he sets by the door. The two fidget nervously as if it's their first date all over again. Of course, after the previous day's full disclosure, both feel as though they are starting over.

"Thank you for coming to the wedding," Tosh says as they stand in the open doorway.

Andy's head bounces about like a bobble-head doll, "It was nice… nice to dance with you. I've always liked dancing with you. I mean, I really like dancing with you."

"I do, too."

"I should probably get going. I know that you don't get a lot of nights off."

Tosh's face drops in disappointment, "Oh."

"I should get some sleep myself."

Tosh grabs his wrist before he has the opportunity to go anywhere, "Before you go, could you help me with this zipper? I had to get Gwen to help me earlier."

Andy closes the door behind him, "I suppose I should. I can't very well let you wear that dress all night, can I?"

"Thank you," she says as she turns her back to him.

Andy unzips her dress slowly. He hopes that she'll turn around and tell him not to go, but she doesn't say a word. However, when the zipper is fully open, neither of them move. Beginning with her neck, Andy runs his fingers down her back. When Tosh shivers with pleasure, Andy takes it as a sign to move forward. He moves his hands under the fabric of the dress and around her stomach, pulling her into his chest. Feeling his cock come alive, he moves his hands up and cups her breasts while kissing her neck gingerly.

Tosh sighs in delight as he begins to toy with her nipples through the fabric of her bra. She allows the dress to fall to the floor and kicks it aside before turning around to face him. She begins to undress him impatiently, yanking off his tie, popping a couple of buttons off his shirt as she flings it open.

Andy pulls out a condom from his pocket and says, "I brought this just in case."

Tosh laughs before drawing him closer for a kiss.

Andy quickly loses his shoes and trousers and tries not to trip over them as they move to the sofa where Tosh straddles his lap and rides him into ecstasy.

"I'm almost there," he groans.

"No, no, no," she cries.

His body tenses up as his mind tries to focus on the problem. "What?"

"Don't come yet. Wait for me."

He groans a bit and tries to think of police procedures, the songs on _Abbey Road_, the velocity of a kebob, anything to prevent ejaculation which is a challenge when he looks up at Tosh's spectacular breasts.

"Not yet," she cries.

Andy grips the cushions of the couch, trying desperately to wait for her even as she grinds into him. She finally has her orgasm, and he recognizes the look on her face and relaxes. They hold onto each other as they shudder in pleasure.

Finally, Tosh rolls off to the side and demurely covers herself up with a pillow. Andy cannot understand her modesty, but finds it quaint nonetheless.

He tells her, "You've opened my eyes in so many ways, Toshiko. I'm glad we met."

She blushes and asks, "Do you want to spend the night?"

"I'd like that," he whispers. Despite his apprehensions, he knows that she is the same woman that he met on the dance floor, and that is good enough for him.

--

Gwen and Rhys go about the bedtime routine in the bathroom. As he gargles, she wonders if he will be the last man she ever loves.

Rhys spits into the sink and wipes his mouth. "It was good of Andy to come back."

"Tosh seemed very happy," Gwen comments. After some thought, she adds, "She deserves it."

"Yes, she does, doesn't she? I wonder how she survived so long on her own."

"She's very strong -- stronger than I am. From the time, I started to date, I don't remember being more than two months without a boyfriend."

"Really?"

"I reckon I've just been lucky," Gwen says. "But poor Tosh has had the worst luck."

"I just don't understand how anyone can work at Torchwood without having something normal at the end of the day."

"What about Jack and Ianto? You can hardly call their lives normal. They live in the hub. Ianto's family has alien roots, and Jack is … well… he's Jack."

"I suppose you're right," Rhys says with a shrug. "But they do seem content with their lot."

"That's what Marianne said."

"Could you see yourself living the way they do?" Rhys asks.

"I don't really know. Jack has become more reasonable under Ianto's influence, but Ianto… the way he treated Reginald, how willing he was to destroy his relationship with Kevin to get what he needed. He's becoming more like Jack."

"Torchwood does change a person."

"Yes, it does," Gwen says thoughtfully. Since joining, she feels stronger and more enlightened, but having to live with what she's seen is also a burden -- one that she doesn't know if could bear without the man standing in front of her. Gwen seizes Rhys and kisses him, feeling fortunate that she is not alone.

--

For Owen and Rory, their honeymoon is everything that the travel agent promised them -- beautiful weather, gorgeous beaches, incredible food, friendly people. The hotel staff already like Rory since she speaks the language fluently, tips well and wears colorful outfits with confidence and grace. There is plenty for them to see and do such as parasailing, shopping in the markets, dancing at the clubs, visiting the pyramids, and they will get around to it… eventually. After spending almost two days in their hotel room, both Rory and Owen blamed the jet-lag. In that time, their clothes remain in their suitcases, and both of them spend their time wrapped up in the sheets and living off room service.

Finally, Rory decides to make an attempt to behave like a tourist. She comes out of the bathroom wearing a bikini and rummages through the suitcase for a sarong.

"What's that outfit called?" Owen asks.

"A bikini," she replies.

"I meant in Spanish."

"It's called a _bikini_. Or _traje de ba__ñ__o_, if you prefer."

"I'll stick with bikini," Owen says. He thrusts his hips against her body. "How do you say 'sexy'?"

"_Sexy_."

"You're kidding me?"

"Mexicans do use some English words. But if you want to say _caliente_, that's fine with me."

"Cal-ee-yen-tay," Owen repeats.

Rory winces at the pronunciation. "On second thought, stick with sexy."

Owen slings her over his shoulder and takes her kicking and laughing to the bed.

She tries to scramble away, saying, "Eventually, we will have to leave this room."

Owen pins her on her stomach. "Don't wanna. My Spanish is horrible, and they are all gonna laugh at me." He begins kissing the small of her back.

"They're all going to laugh at you when you return from your honeymoon as pasty as ever."

"No they won't. Couples are supposed to spend their honeymoons in their rooms having rampant, wanton sex."

Rory flips onto her back and challenges him, "Are you saying 'no' to a Templeton?"

"What if I am?"

"Do you have any idea what I can do to a puny human such as yourself?"

"Do you have any idea what I can do to an alien like you?" Owen says as he ghosts his fingers along her inner thigh.

"No one says 'no' to me," she sighs, her defenses weakening.

"I do all the time. That's why you married me." Owen murmurs as tugs off the bottom piece of her suit.

He kisses her hips, gradually moving down her body. Rory gasps as Owen finds just the right spot with his tongue. She knows that he is in a very vulnerable position and that she can scurry away from him with very little fuss if she wanted to. However, he works her into submission by teasing her clitoris, setting off small explosions inside of her. She is reduced to a writhing mass on the bed. Owen works his way up her body and removes the top of her bathing suit so that he can play with her nipples.

"All right," she moans. "But I'm not leaving this country without seeing the pyramids."

As he penetrates her, Owen replies, "Yes, dear."

* * *

**SIX MONTHS LATER IN A SMALL HOSPICE**

Ianto Jones is sitting in the chair when Bilis Manger opens his eyes. The young man gets up and stands by the side of the bed.

Despite his shallow breath, Bilis still has the strength to speak, "Did the Captain send you to make sure that today is my last day on Earth?"

"No," Ianto replies.

"So he doesn't know that you're here?"

"He knows."

The old man coughs twice, and Ianto, with his hands protected by latex gloves, carefully wipes the blood off the man's bottom lip.

"You've come to pity me," Bilis groans.

"I've come to offer you a dignified end." Ianto reaches in his jacket pocket and pulls out an oblong black case. Inside are two syringes, which he shows Bilis.

"Why?"

"I could leave," the young man says.

"Please. Stay. I thought that you and the Captain would be inclined to allow me to suffer. He even said something to that effect."

Ianto pauses slightly before saying, "I've seen too many people who haven't had the luxury of a quiet death."

Bilis strains to speak, "In my vision, I died alone."

"Well, some of your visions never came to pass, did they?"

Bilis smiles, "The future has so many possib--" He doesn't finish because he begins to cough violently.

Ianto pours the old man a glass of water. Bilis doesn't accept it, but he's glad for the young man's attention even if it is formal.

"All those travels and no one to share them with," Ianto says.

"So you do pity me," Bilis wheezes. "Get on with it. I'm ready."

Ianto finds the catheter attached the Bilis's frail arm and inserts a needle. "This will make you fall asleep," he whispers.

The old man blinks several times as he feels the effects of the medication, "Thank you."

Ianto quietly gives him the second injection that will stop his heart and slips quickly out of the room. There are no measures to prevent Bilis's passing. A lone nurse saunters into the room to shut off the medical equipment. A doctor enters to call the time of death. Jack would say that is was all so anti-climactic.

That night, once they are alone, Jack finds Ianto sitting on the couch. The Welshman watches Myfanwy fly around the hub with an unreadable expression on his face. Jack joins his boyfriend on the couch and wraps his arm around him.

"I don't know if I did right or wrong," Ianto says.

"How do you feel about it?"

"That's just it. I don't really feel anything except relief that he's gone."

"Why did I ever let you convince me to let you take care of things?" Jack sighs.

"Gwen or Tosh wouldn't be able to go through with it. You and Owen are still angry and would have been much too happy to do it," Ianto responds.

Jack kisses the young man's forehead, "I'll call Rory and tell her you're not up to dinner tonight."

"No, I'll be ready in a tick."

"Are you sure?"

"We're not having this dinner to mourn Bilis or celebrate his demise. We are having this dinner because I need to be with all of you tonight," Ianto tells him.

--

When they arrive at the Templeton estate, Rory greets them both enthusiastically and shows them the new clock in the foyer. As they wait in the sitting room for the meal to be ready, Ianto watches Jack play with a kitten while Owen complains about how much it sheds. Rory curls up against Ianto's shoulder and holds his hand sympathetically. Andy and Tosh arrive, and the police officer tells them about how he had to trap a prized myna bird that escaped in a five-star hotel. Gwen arrives with Rhys, and she tries to make a big deal about how Ianto must be feeling. Luckily the cook arrives and tells them that the meal is ready, and Tosh pulls him away from Gwen, much to the Welshman's relief. Ianto feels grateful that he has friends that can intuit what he needs.

In the middle of dessert, the maid enters the room screaming, "Ma'am! Ma'am! The ballroom, ma'am!"

Jack sighs and puts down his fork. "I'll take a look. Tosh and Owen, you're with me. The rest of you, sit tight."

The others sit tensely in the dining room. Gwen eats her dessert nervously while Andy takes a huge sip of wine.

Suddenly, Jack bursts into the room with his trademark grin and exclaims, "You have got to see this!"

When they get to the ball room, Jack announces with great flair, "It's showtime!"

Rory squeals with laughter as they watch a contortionist, a sword-swallower, a juggler, and a man who breathes fire perform in the ball room.

Tosh immediately takes a reading, "I am definitely picking up rift activity. I should get downstairs and sort out the problem."

"Hold on, Tosh," Ianto says. "The contortionist is just getting started. Let her finish her act."

"Where do you think they come from?" Gwen asks.

"Bertram's great-uncle, Aloysius, was very fond of the circus," Rory replies. "Bertie once told me about how he invited the entire troupe home for tea and biscuits after a performance."

"Because sometimes a nice thank you note just isn't enough," Andy snarks.

"This is the house they give to the weirdos in the Templeton family," Rory says with a certain amount of pride, until a flicker of grief crosses her face. "Except for Reginald, of course. How he tried to make this estate respectable."

"He just never got how much fun a little eccentricity can be," Jack muses. He turns to the juggler and asks, "This may sound really dumb, but what year is this?"

"It's 1921," he replies. "Boy, the lot of you must be really hitting the sauce. Got any more?"

Andy passes him the bottle, and the juggler takes a swig without dropping any of the balls.

"Bloody Torchwood," Rhys sighs in amusement.

"Well, at least, we're not boring," Ianto quips.

Ianto's face is full of wonder and joy as he watches the contortionist balance herself on both hands as she brings her feet to her shoulders. Jack knows that Ianto will be all right. No matter all that he's seen and done, he still has not lost his youthful spirit.

Owen wraps his arms around Rory's waist and whispers, "You know, I think I'm beginning to like this house."

"Me, too," she whispers back.

THE END


End file.
